


Take My Hand

by carsol12



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Crossover, Depression, Eventual Happy Ending, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Smut, I'm Bad At Tagging, Kid Skye | Daisy Johnson, M/M, Marvel Universe, Phil Coulson Has the Patience of a Saint, Post-Bahrain (Agents of SHIELD), Protective Melinda May, Protective Natasha Romanov, Self-Harm
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-16
Updated: 2019-06-20
Packaged: 2019-10-11 03:09:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 31,343
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17438801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/carsol12/pseuds/carsol12
Summary: Skye and Natasha are soulmates. They meet when Skye is still going by the name of Mary and when she is in danger. Natasha tries to stay away from Skye but doesn't succeed and in the shadows watches Skye grow up. They meet when Natasha allows it. I started posting this on fanfiction.net and thought I should post it on here too. It's still a work in progress.





	1. Does Someone Like Me Deserve Love?

**Mostly centered on Skye**  
  
_Underlined and italics are soul marks_  
_Italics with no underlines are thoughts_  
**Bold underlined and italics are years that passed**

  
**Natasha (20)**

  
Natasha was perplexed when she saw a soul mark appear above her left breast whilst she was showering. Please don’t hurt me, I didn’t mean to, I promise I’ll pay for it somehow!

  
“Oh shit” Natasha whispered, staring at the new development on her skin. This was not okay. This meant her soul mate was 20 years younger than she was. Her soul mate was currently a baby. “shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!” For the first time she felt lucky that she hardly aged and that it barely showed. “If I ever meet this person, then at least I won’t look seriously old when I let them down.”

  
She was slightly confused at herself for wondering why her looks would even matter if she ever met this person. She knows she can’t let herself get attached to anyone in that way. She would just have to hide it and hope that she would never meet this person and hope that they would find their own happiness with someone else. She feels as though she wouldn’t be able to give the person what they wanted so she feels it best to not let anything progress should they meet.

  
She decided that no one could know about this. Not SHIELD, not the Avengers, not even Clint.

  
_**4 Years Later**_  
**Mary (4)**  
“It sure is a nice day!” Mary yelled. She felt so lucky the nuns said yes for her coming to the park with them and the others. She felt that she didn’t really deserve to come since she broke the bathroom mirror yesterday morning, but it was an accident. Sometimes she just gets so angry she does things without realizing what happened until after it’s happened. Sometimes she gets so scared she just freezes in place with her thoughts running

  
Sister Evangeline often favored Mary over the others because she knows she’s often picked and ridiculed on by the others. She knows Mary having a lot of anger problems weren’t her fault. Sister Evangeline often tries to include Mary when it comes to events even if she’s done something to not let her earn the right to come. She knows the only way to calm Mary down from her anger and fear is for someone to hold her in their lap and place her head on their chest so that she can hear the heartbeat and rock her slowly.

  
She managed to convince the other nuns to let Mary come along so that she wouldn’t be in the building alone and so that they wouldn’t have to cancel the trip for the other kids.

  
Mary looked around herself, they were at a big park and she was a little far away from the other kids and nuns. There was a small playground for the kids to play at, but she enjoyed running through the giant field of flowers that surrounded it. To get to the park they had to cross a small forest that had a tiny bridge with a river running under it. Then you had to continue to walk for another 5 minutes to get to the large flower field with a gazebo in the center of it all. The playground was just a bit further down the field. Mary always went to the gazebo when she was done running through the flowers. She always imagined it as a castle for herself since she was the only one who went there whenever they were fortunate enough to visit. She imagined herself and her soulmate running in the field then stopping for a picnic near the big tree next to the gazebo with neither of them talking, just enjoying each other’s love.

  
Mary always had deep thoughts that only Sister Evangeline knew about. She understands Mary feels thinks and feels deeply.

  
“HEY POOTS!” an angry voice shouted at Mary. She turned around to see 9-year-old Penny looking ready to hit her

  
“What’s wrong now?” Mary asked.

  
Penny was a little brown-haired girl was sharp conniving eyes. She always picked on Mary since she was the youngest so far at the orphanage and because she was always sent back a month later from each foster home she goes too. It always made her feel better to hurt Mary since Penny hardly left the orphanage to be fostered.

  
“I see you came back from the Peter’s, what happened this time? Did they just hate the look of your face? You’re so ugly, maybe that’s why no one wants you. I mean look at you, not only that but you’re also still in diapers. Seriously why don’t you learn how to use the bathroom already?” Penny sneered at Mary, pinching her forearm making sure that it would leave a bruise.

  
Mary had tears in her eyes hearing those words from Penny. It wasn’t exactly her fault, she was scared to go to the bathroom is all. The diaper also helps at night so that way it’s harder for the mean men that come into her room at night whenever she’s at an awful foster home to take off and touch her. She wears it for protection, but no one understands that but her. It doesn’t help either that she won’t tell anyone what happens at those homes. They always threaten to find her and hurt and everyone around her if she tells.

  
“I’m not ugly! Sister Evangeline says I just have different efanikities (ethnicities) is all!” Mary didn’t completely understand what that meant but she from what sister Evangeline says it’s nothing bad, it just means she’s different.

  
“you don’t even know what that means you stupid little baby!” with that said Penny pushes Mary to the ground with a hard shove and walks away to the swings.

  
Mary laid on the ground trying to keep the tears at bay but failing. Soon she was full out sobbing hard on the ground.

  
Sitting up slowly she looked at her hands and knees. Both palms were bloody from trying to stop the fall and her left knee had blood running down all the way to her ankle from hitting the cement.

  
“You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay. There’s nothing wrong with you. There’s nothing wrong with the way you look. You’re just different is all, and there’s nothing wrong with that. So, it’s okay.” Mary tried to tell herself.

  
Even though she’s only 4 she thinks about what life would be like if she was never born but looking at her soul mark helps her dispel any bad thoughts that she knows she shouldn’t be thinking about. _"Don’t worry about that, take my hand, a beautiful little girl like you shouldn’t be crying on the ground."_

  
It was on her right thigh with clear beautiful penmanship that Mary wishes she would one day have as well instead of her awful hand writing she currently has. Only, looking at the words made her upset this time instead of calm.

  
This time she was asking herself if this person would love her, even want her. She was always so confident that her soul mate would love her no matter what, it was fate after all. Now though, she wasn’t confident. With doubt in her little head she started breathing even more heavily and was starting to feel dizzy.

  
With her mind not in the right state, she stands up and runs away from the other kids, the nuns, the park. She has no idea where she’s going except away.

  
Millions of trees, faces, buildings, animals are all blurry images in Mary’s eyes. Soon images of monsters filled her head as well. Feeling nothing but fear and pain she continues to run for about an hour until exhaustion hits in and she falls unconscious in an alley.

  
**Natasha (24)**

  
Walking on her way home with Clint, Tony, and Steve, an irritated and annoyed Natasha was silently fuming at Clint for thinking it would be a great idea for them to go out and play paint ball.

  
“Come on Nat, you got to admit it was fun” Clint said sporting a black eye from being punched by her for betraying her and switching to Tony’s team for the promise of the last piece of brownie. Originally, the teams were supposed to be Steve and Tony vs Natasha and Clint.

 

“Don’t be such a sore loser Romanoff” Tony said while smirking at the fact that he managed to beat the Black Widow at something for once.

  
“Maybe we should just walk quietly and not bother her guys” Steve pitched in, trying to be polite as he could tell she was about to kill them all.

  
“It’s not our fault we have such great skills, am I right Bird Boy?” Tony said putting up a high five gesture towards Clint.

  
Receiving a glare from Natasha that dared him to return the gesture to Tony, Clint decided to ignore the hand in front of his face.

  
“Fine, be that way. I’m putting this bad boy in the Commons Room” Tony stated, lifting up a small trophy that declared “BEST PAINT BALL SHOOTER”

  
What made the situation more irritating to Natasha was the fact that Tony had the thing made. Having enough of him, she grabs the trophy out of his hands and says, “I’m keeping this.”

  
Before Tony could start complaining the four of them heard what sounded like a small child screaming “Please no, please, please, stop, I don’t want too, please stop!” from an upcoming alley.

  
Hearing those words, the four of them sped off towards the alley.

 

**Mary (4)**

  
Waking up Mary was confused to where she was. It was dark, extremely dark. She couldn’t understand how she got to some random alley. The only thing she was able to register so far was that she was very sore.

  
While standing up Mary was becoming aware of the heavy breathing towards the darkest part of the alley.

  
Feeling the hairs on her neck and arms stand up she became even more frightened and confused.

  
Turning around, looking at the dark corner she asked “Hello?”

  
After saying those words, the breathing stopped. She soon saw a man stand up and walk towards her. To Mary he smelled awful, like pee and sweat and something else she couldn’t quite describe.

  
Looking at the man, she saw that he was tan, had black greasy hair, was old in her eyes, yellow teeth with one or two missing, and had scary smile on his face. She knew that smile though, it was the smile the foster dads always wore when they came in her room in the middle of the night.

  
Looking even closer at him she saw his pants were undone and that there was something in them. She’s seen the outline of it before from the other men but all they ever did was touch her with their hands. “Do you know where I am?” She asked quietly in fear.

  
The man spoke in a low voice, nearly a whisper. “I’ve been waiting hours for you to wake up. Come closer, I’ll help you with what you need, and you can help me with what I need.”

  
Mary knew that she wasn’t in a good situation right now but no matter how much she tried to move her feet she wasn’t able to. The man used the opportunity of her being frozen to grab a fist full of her hair and to put a hand over her mouth. He dragged her over to the corner where he was recently at, threw her to the ground, and started kicking her repeatedly.

  
When he felt that she wouldn’t move or put up a fight at all, he turned her over on her stomach and started taking her clothes off.

  
“We’re going to have so much fun, I promise” was all Mary kept hearing from him. He was running his hands all over her body. Making disgusting noises. He thought no one was around since it was well into the night but neither of them realized how close the avengers were.

  
Mary didn’t realize her clothes had been stripped off until she felt a small gust of wind and shivered. The man was starting to lay on top of her and she felt something hard press against her bottom. Finally finding her voice she screams “Please no, please, please, stop, I don’t want too, please stop!” Tears were falling down her face, snot running out of her nose, not to mention she was having even more trouble with breathing because of how hard and how much he kicked her. He was just laughing off her crying and screaming, until he heard a bunch of running footsteps coming towards them. Looking up he came face to face with four avengers.


	2. Meeting for the First Time

**Natasha**

  
Natasha was the first out of the four to get there. Upon arriving they saw the man quickly get to his feet.

  
He was on his feet in no less than 5 seconds after seeing Natasha, Clint, Steve, and Tony running in the alley. He did not even try to pull up his pants or act as if he was not about to do something so awful to a little girl. “Well hey there guys, do you want to join in?” He said while grinning towards them. “I promise I won’t tell if you won’t, it’ll be our secret.”

  
“Get the hell away from that little girl, you disgusting pedophile!” Tony screamed. Clint and Steve started walking towards the man slowly.

  
Steve had his eyes on the little girl but at the same time on the man. He had to get her away from him. Clint was trying to think of a way to put this man on the ground. Tony was angry, the only reason he was not beating the man to the ground was because of how close he was to the child.

  
Natasha did not even try speaking to the man, her eyes were focused on the naked little girl who had not once looked at them. She could tell the girl was cold and having trouble breathing from hearing her wheezing and seeing her shaking. I have to get her warm and to calm down soon or else she’ll pass out. She knew the boys could handle the creep and she would get her fair share of “handling” him as soon as she gets the girl to a safe location.

  
“Aww, come on. Do not be like that. I know how to share” The man could tell this wasn’t going to go his way and decided to pull his pants up and make himself look presentable while trying to come up with a way to escape this situation to avoid jail. At the same time though, he really wanted kid. He decided to say, “Fuck it” and grabbed her arm and run.

  
Before he could make a run for it though, Clint, Steve, and Tony all moved at once. Clint elbowed him in the gut, making him hunch over and grab his stomach, while Steve moved the girl out of harm’s way, and Tony sat on top of him punching him repeatedly in the face. Natasha moved forward to grab the child that was struggling in Steve’s arms. With receiving a nod from Natasha Steve let go of the girl and went to help Clint move Tony off the man. Steve understands that most of the time children are more comfortable when there is the presence of a women nearby.

  
**Mary**

  
Mary was in so much distress she could not register the fact that more people had shown up. Her eardrums were beating so intensely the only thing she could hear were muffled noises. She felt her throat start to close in on itself. She could not think of anything except the fact that she just wanted to be in Sister Evangeline’s lap.

  
She hardly felt the fact that the man grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet. What she did feel though was when another strange man held her. She grew even more panicked and started to squirm in his arms. When he let her go, she went back to the corner where the man was previously on top of her. From being frightened so much she accidentally wet herself. Mary curled up into a ball, trying to hide her body and face from everyone feeling nothing but shame and fear. Mary kept hiding herself, it was not until she heard humming from a woman that she started to calm down and felt safe enough to lift her face. _Who’s she?_ Mary internally questioned.

  
**Natasha**

  
Natasha did not say anything to the little girl at first. Instead she started humming her favorite song “Total Eclipse of the Heart” and sat next to the girl. She knew it was best not to touch her right now and that words were not a good thing either yet. She waited for the child to calm down and lift her face to Natasha.

  
When she finally looked at Natasha, she received a smile from the red head. Natasha still did not say anything, still humming, but she lifted the trophy she stole from Tony and started playing with it, pretending it was an airplane, then suddenly standing up and pretended it was her dancing partner. Resulting in what Natasha thought was the most beautiful smile and giggle come from anyone. _She’s too cute for a little kid._

  
**Mary**

  
Without meaning too she lets out a giggle, thinking the lady was being extremely silly. _She’s funny and pretty, hahaha, a trophy is not a real person silly. Wow, she has a pretty smile._ Mary felt lighter and safer now that she is not alone with that gross man anymore. It helped her that she was not being touched or forced to talk.

  
She felt incredibly tired though. All she wanted to do was sleep in a nice warm bed. Turning her head for a moment she sees two men grab another man off the disgusting unconscious pervert. There was a lot of blood covering his face and the only sign that showed he was living was his slow breathing. Looking at him made her feel overwhelmed so she turned her head back to the red head.

  
She tried to calm herself down again and reminded herself that she is no longer alone with him.

  
**Natasha**

  
When she felt the child was not going to pass out or run away from being touched for a moment, Natasha called to Clint to give his jacket so that she could put it around the child. All her clothes were torn apart from the disgusting pervert. Once receiving the jacket, she went to put it around the child’s shoulders. She was wrong when she believed the child would be alright with light physical contact. It was when she saw Natasha get too close to her, that the child screamed and hit Natasha, causing her to drop the trophy and it being broken.

  
To show the child she meant no harm she put her arms in a non-threatening manner. She knew she had to approach her as delicately as possible. The child started crying quietly, afraid she made the red head mad because of her broken item.

_“Please don’t hurt me, I didn’t mean to, I promise I’ll pay for it somehow!”_ Natasha froze at hearing those words come from the little girl. She could not believe that this little girl was her soulmate. Natasha did not want to have anything to do with her soulmate so that way enemies would not be able to find the child and use her to get back at Natasha, but she also knew she was the only one who would be able to comfort the child since she was the only female. She already knew the little girl was not going to respond well to the three male avengers after having a man touch her, so she had to be the one. Taking a deep breath, Natasha spoke. _“_ _Don’t worry about that, take my hand, a beautiful little girl like you shouldn’t be crying on the ground.”_

  
Upon hearing those words, the little girl looked at Natasha for a long hard moment. She took the offered hand and stood. “Would it be alright with you if I put the jacket on you?” Natasha asked. The little girl nodded slowly and spoke “You’re my-” Natasha interrupted her with “We’ll get to that later, for now, tell me your name.”

  
Natasha noticed Clint giving them a strange look. _Shit, I need to do better at not letting anyone know of our bond._

  
Once the jacket was zipped up to her chin, the child softly spoke “My name’s Mary, what’s yours?” Natasha stood still for a moment, having an internal battle with herself about this entire situation. “My name is Natasha, but you can call me Nat. Would you like to come with me to somewhere safe? I promise no one will hurt you so long as you’re with me.”

  
Mary lifted her pinky “Do you pinky promise? Because if you do you really cannot break your promise. If you break a pinky promise, it’s super naughty.” Mary said with what Natasha thought was the most adorable serious face she had ever seen.

  
Natasha put on a serious face as well and lifted her pinky and intertwined their pinkies and said “I promise. Can you walk or would you like me to carry you?”

  
Before Mary could answer, Tony suddenly came towards them with the pedophile over his shoulder and spoke to Natasha “Hey, what should we do with this gross shit? I know you want a piece of him too.” Steve came and stood next to him “Perhaps we should just drop him off at the police station? We should let them handle the rest of this.” Clint quickly inputted “Child rapists and molesters don’t last long in jail anyways.” The three of them looked at Natasha and waited for an answer.

  
Natasha looked at Mary and met her beautiful brown eyes. She wanted to kill the man right where they were. There was no doubt about that. At the same time though, she didn’t want Mary to think she was a monster. _Send him to jail and miss the chance or kill him right now._ Natasha cursed the man in her head and said, “Take him to the station now before I change my mind.” Mary had been through enough for one night. She just wanted him to be as far away from Mary soon. With that decided, Steve and Tony left with the still unconscious man.

  
“I’ll be heading to the tower with you two, if that’s okay with you Nat?” Clint asked.

  
“Yeah, it’s fine” Natasha said, and turned to look at Mary with the question still present in her eyes on whether she wants to walk or be carried.

  
**Mary**

  
Mary contemplated what she wanted. It was clear to all of them that she wanted to be carried but was still wary of letting someone touch her. _Both she and that guy haven’t done anything to hurt me. Also, she is my soulmate, and soulmates can’t lie or hurt each other physically. I’m too tired to walk anyway. I guess it’s okay. Wait… I peed. She won’t want to carry me._

  
She looked up at Natasha’s kind smiling face, then looked at the ground and said, “I peed myself.” She said embarrassingly doing her best not to cry.

  
“That’s okay, it happens sometimes when someone’s really scared.” Natasha said kindly.

  
“But I smell really bad too!” Mary said with an angry tear falling from her eye.

  
“So, does my buddy Clint here but that doesn’t stop me from hanging around him.” Natasha said jokingly. Receiving a “Hey!” from Clint and a small giggle from Mary. “I promise it doesn’t bother me. Like I said, it happens. Now, do you want to walk or be carried?”

  
_I guess if she really doesn’t mind…_ Mary looked away and shyly said “would-would you mind-“ She was not able to finish her sentence before Natasha scooped her up in her arms and started walking.

  
_She’s so warm and she smells like apples. She’s super nice too, I’m lucky my soulmate is a good person._ Mary thought while smiling over Natasha’s shoulder. Mary noticed the man called Clint and asked, “Where are we going?” _Nat said he’s her buddy so that must mean he’s a good person too, and if he’s not well... Nat said I’d be safe with her, so I don’t have to worry._

  
**Clint**

  
Clint was startled when she spoke to him, he was lost in his thoughts trying to figure out why Natasha was acting strange. His mind wasn’t able to forget Mary’s unfinished sentence _“You’re My-“Natasha’s her what? I’ll have to confront her about it later. For now, we gotta get the kid warm. Confrontation’s gonna have to wait for tomorrow after we’re all rested._

  
Looking at Mary he said, “We’re going to a place where we hang out and rest until we need to leave for a bit.” He wasn’t sure if that made any sense to the little girl, it’s not like he was able to say they were assassins and only stayed until they needed to leave for another mission. Besides it didn’t look like Mary knew who or what the avengers were and looked like.

  
“Oh” was the only response he received.

  
“Hey Mary, how old are you?” Clint asked. “I’m 4 years old!” Mary said excitedly, then went quite for a moment until she spoke back up with “At least, I think I am. No one really knows how old I am.” Mary spoke sadly.

  
Clint looked up at Natasha who did not comment on anything, though it was clear to him, she was listening to every word Mary spoke.

  
“What do you mean Mary?” Clint asked softly.

  
“I’m from St. Agnes Orphanage. No one knows when my real birthday is, so the nuns had to make the day I showed up at the orphanage my birthday. They said I didn’t look that old when I showed up, so they went from there, so now I’m 4. Mary might not even be my real name, that’s the name one of the mean nuns gave me.” Mary said, starting to get upset.

  
Before Clint could get apologize for making her upset, Natasha spoke up “We’re here.” Clint noticed they went the long way that lead to a secret underground parking lot to avoid the paparazzi. It was annoying at times that they had to use this way to get to the tower but right now both he and Natasha were grateful for it. This way no one can spot Mary and ask questions.

  
As they were heading to the elevator, Clint once again observed Natasha. He noticed how she seemed to have tightened her grip on Mary. As if she were afraid of letting go and that Mary would disappear.

  
“You’re safe now.” He heard the almost inaudible words Natasha spoke once they were in the elevator that would lead them to whatever floor they chose in the tower. It seemed that even though Mary was extremely close to Natasha that she had not heard the words Natasha spoke. He chose not to bring it up right then, they were all tired and would figure things out tomorrow.

  
_I’m definitely going to question her tomorrow. Hopefully, the fact that I’m her partner and best friend will be reason enough on why she shouldn’t kill me for asking her questions._ Clint thought.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This will mostly be a Natasha and Clint conversation on what happens next. Sorry if this is a slow story guys! I’m going to try to make my chapters longer so that the story can move forward in the next coming up chapters.

At the Tower

**Mary**

Mary felt comfortable in Natasha’s arms and couldn’t help but think, _She’s soft, but at the same time, not too soft._ She closed her eyes for a moment while they were in the elevator and reopened them once she heard a voice that was not Natasha’s or Clint’s.

“Ahh, hello miss Romanoff and Mr. Barton. Did you both have pleasant evening? Oh, I see we have a guest. Should I assume she will be sharing a floor with one of you tonight?” _he has a really weird voice_ Mary thought.

Clint looked to Natasha and said, “I’m not tired yet so I’ll just hang out with you for a bit.”

Natasha looked to him and then to the ceiling and spoke “Whatever, send us to my floor Jarvis.”

“Right away Miss Romanoff.” Jarvis said.

As the elevator went to her floor Mary looked at Natasha and asked, “Who was that?”

Natasha had a look of concentration, trying to think of a way of describing the AI to Mary. “Hmm, that was sort of like a computer that can talk, only the computer doesn’t always need to be around you for it to talk. Did that make any sense to you?”

“So, it’s like an invisible person?” Mary asked.

“Yeah, kind of.” Natasha said sending another smile to Mary.

Mary thought about how he spoke “He speaks kind of funny.”

Natasha thought about that for a moment “Well, he was programmed to have a cool British accent.”

Mary was silent after hearing that, she was incredibly fascinated with Jarvis and wanted to understand how he worked.

Finally reaching Natasha’s floor, Clint looked at the two girls and said, “I’m going to find a shirt to sleep into tonight.” Then left for Natasha’s room to find a T-Shirt.

Mary was confused on what would happen now. Natasha still hadn’t put her down.

“Would you like a bath Mary? Or would you prefer a shower?” Natasha asked.

“I’d like a bath please.” Mary said shyly looking at the ground. Once she saw the ground moving, she noticed it changed from a tiled floor to carpet. She looked up and saw that they were in a bedroom. Once they were in the bedroom Natasha set her down on the bed and left to the bathroom. Mary looked next to her and noticed a shirt and towel on the bed. She finally realized the TV on in the room and saw Clint sitting on the bed watching a singing show. _Wow, they sing pretty._ Mary thought, getting lost in the show that she didn’t hear Clint’s question. “I’m sorry, what did you say?” Mary asked, worried she made him mad.

Seeing a smile on Clint’s face she relaxed. _He’s Nat’s friend so he’s a good person._ Mary reminded herself. She was still a little worried about being alone with men after what happened during her visits with foster homes and with what happened that evening.

“I asked if you’re thirsty or maybe hungry? How long has it been since you’ve eaten?” He asked her.

“Oh, umm… let’s see we were at the park around lunchtime so…lunchtime?” Mary questioned herself.

Clint lost his smile, looking worried for a minute and asked, “How about, I go make you something to eat while you take a bath and then you can eat it before bed?”

Mary looked shocked at the fact that someone besides Sister Evangeline wanted to make a meal for her. “If it’s not too much trouble, yes please.”

With his smile returning on to his lips and seeing Natasha waiting by the door he said, “Great! Oh, looks like it’s time for you to get in the bath. I’ll go make your food now.” Then left to go do just that.

For a moment Mary was scared that she was alone in the room until she looked toward the bathroom and saw Natasha leaning over the doorframe waiting for her with a little amusement in her eyes.

“What?” She asked “Did you honestly think we’d let you be alone in a room for even a moment? He only left because I showed up to help you in the bath.”

_Thank goodness._ Mary thought happily. Getting off the bed with excitement she ran towards Natasha and the bathroom. Once in the bathroom Natasha closes the door and helps Mary out of the jacket.

Mary noticed Natasha looking at her with a face that didn’t show any kind of emotion. She was worried she did something to upset the red head. “Nat? Are you okay?” Mary asked worriedly.

**Natasha**

Natasha didn’t look Mary in the eyes when she asked, “Is that what HE did to you?” pointing to the giant black and blue bruises covering about Mary’s entire abdomen. Mary didn’t give an answer, but Natasha already knew. She just couldn’t help but ask.

_I’m so stupid! I should’ve taken her to the medical lab and had Bruce do X-Rays on her before anything else._ She was furious. With a huge sigh leaving her body she looked up at Mary who was looking away very sadly. _Anger is going to have to wait for now._

Grabbing Mary’s chin with her index finger and thumb, Natasha turned Mary’s face so that she could look into her eyes “Hey, I’m not mad at you, I’m mad at him for what he did to you, and at myself for not thinking you might need some medical attention. Maybe the bath should wait until after we’ve gotten you-“ She was interrupted by Mary.

“NO! I WANT A BATH! I WANT A BATH!” Mary screamed, trying to keep the tears at bay.

“Hey, there’s no need to yell. I’m just saying we should get you checked out in case you’re hurt inside your body.” Natasha was worried that Mary might have internal injuries.

“I want a bath first, no doctor, not yet, please. I feel gross. He was on me and I peed on myself and I just want a bath. Please. I just want a bath.” Mary pleaded with the tears leaving her eyes.

Natasha was conflicted. On the one hand she understood Mary wanting to feel clean and the ordeal she went through, on the other she really wanted her properly checked over. “Please.” She heard coming from Mary.

Sighing Natasha said “Alright, but after your bath, we’re going to get you check out okay? Clint will bring your food down with us so you can eat while someone looks you over. Deal?” She asked raising an eyebrow to the young girl.

“Deal!” Mary said wiping away tears and a beautiful smile gracing her face.

Looking at Mary’s thigh which revealed Natasha’s words to Mary, she felt something odd inside her shift. _Shit. This whole keeping away from each other is going to be harder than I thought. Especially when she does cute things like that. Well…She is just a kid so all I need to do is just drop her back off at the orphanage tomorrow afternoon and then leave, but…_

Natasha’s thoughts were interrupted by a splash, looking at the bathtub she saw Mary splashing the warm water.

“This is warm…” Mary said with a sad smile.

“Is that okay?” Natasha asked worried she did something wrong.

“Yeah, I’m happy. We don’t always get to take warm baths at the orphanage so that we can save on heat. I try not to complain about it because I know it makes Sister Evangeline sad that she can’t always give us what we want. At the foster homes… they didn’t really care if I was clean or not. I don’t know how to even turn on the bathtub, so I usually stay dirty until someone from the orphanage comes and gets me.” Mary said quietly.

Natasha was even more furious. She wanted to ask what exactly happened in the foster homes Mary’s been too but, she knew she wouldn’t be able to hide her emotions if it was something awful and she didn’t want to frighten or make Mary upset more. “I see. In that case, would you like me to show you how most bathtubs work?” _I can’t get involved more than I already am when it comes to what happens next for her, but the least I can do is show her how something works._

Mary looked up with excitable eyes “Yes please!”

“Alright, here’s what you do…” Natasha went ahead to tell Mary how to work the bathtub and how to make so that she could take a shower if she wanted too.

“Thank you, Nat.,” Mary said happily

“No problem, do you need any help cleaning up?” Natasha asked gently.

Mary considered it for a moment but decided no but she’d call her if she needed help. With that being decided Natasha went into the kitchen to find a waiting Clint. She left the bathroom door partially open and left the bedroom door wide open so that she could hear Mary if she needed her.

Clint opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it. “Hold on, Clint. Jarvis, wake up Bruce and tell him to meet us in the lab in about an hour.”

“Right away, Miss Romanoff.” The AI replied.

Looking back at Clint she motioned him to speak his mind.

“What is going on? Do you know Mary? Wait, stupid question considering you asked what her name was back at the alley. Still though, I’ve never seen you be so protective of anyone like that. Not Laura or the kids. So, what is going on and don’t try to bullshit me on this Tasha.” Clint started to regret being so forward and demanding once he caught the side of Natasha’s narrowed eyes. “Please, Nat. You’re my partner and best friend. Just tell me.” He said quietly.

Natasha’s eyes softened at that. _Should I tell him? I doubt he’d ever switch sides and go be a bad guy or whatever but still, shit happens. At the same time though, it shouldn’t matter since after today I’m never going to see her again. Right?_

Sighting Natasha decided to be open about it but demanded he never tell a living soul. It seemed only fair since he shared his family with her that she shares at least the discovery of her soulmate she made today.

“Okay, but you can’t tell anyone about this. I mean Clint.” She demanded.

Clint was startled at her reaction. He didn’t think she would tell him. Looking at her, he knew this was extremely important and promised he wouldn’t tell anyone. Before she said anything else, she told Jarvis to stop recording them for the hour to which he said he would stop.

_Here goes nothing._ “She’s my soulmate.”

Clint was baffled. “Mary? Are you sure it’s absolutely her?”

Natasha was already getting irritated at this conversation “Yes. She said the words and I saw my words on her thigh. She’s my soulmate…My soulmate.” Natasha whispered the last two words.

Clint was quiet for the moment thinking about what to say next. “So, what happens now? Is she going to stay here? Or are we…We’re not seriously returning her to the orphanage, are we?” He worriedly asked seeing Natasha’s emotionless face.

“Of course we’re returning her. It’s dangerous for her to even be here right now.” Natasha’s tone turning hostile.

Clint was starting to get angry as well “She’s 4 Nat. You’re her soulmate. Can’t we at least find her somewhere stable to live? Are you at least going to see her?” When he didn’t receive a reply, he furiously said “I understand you not wanting her to be in danger, but she’s seen you Tasha. It’s going to destroy her if you don’t at least visit every now and then. Please, think about it. I’ll help you visit secretly whenever you want it doesn’t even have to be often but please, think about this.”

Natasha felt tears starting to form “I did think about it. You think I like this? I don’t. The truth is though, the more I am around her the more likely it is for enemies to realize what she means to me. They will use her to hurt me Clint. You know what, SHIELD doesn’t even know about your family. So why are you getting on my case about this?” Looking at the clock Natasha noticed how truly late it was. About to be midnight. “After lunchtime tomorrow, we’re taking her back to the orphanage and we’re letting her get on with her life without me in it Clint. End of discussion”

“You’ll regret this.” Clint softly said.

Natasha quietly said “I’ve done a lot of things that I regret, making sure she’s safe, even if we can’t ever be together, won’t be one of them. Besides, she’s 4. She’ll forget about me in a week.” she finished trying not to seem sad. With the argument now finished they both sat quietly next to each other lost in their thoughts until they heard “NAT! I’M ALL DONE!”

Chuckling Natasha got up and went towards the bedroom until she heard Clint mutter “No one ever forgets their soulmate, no matter the age.” Without responding to him she continued to the waiting girl in her bathroom.

_It’s what’s best for her._ Natasha sadly thought to herself.


	4. It's Time to Talk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, no one gets annoyed, but this chapter has a lot of talk about God in it. Since Skye was in an orphanage full of nuns, I’m assuming that they pushed the kids to learn about God there. So please don’t get mad, because this has nothing to do with changing anyone’s religion.

**Mary**

Mary sat in the bathtub, enjoying the warm water, and thinking about Natasha. _So, Nat’s my soulmate. She’s so nice, I’m sooooo lucky. Oh yeah! I’m supposed to pray and thank God whenever something good happens to me! This is the first time something good has happened to me, so I’ll thank him extra hard_.

Mary put her hands together and prayed, “Hey God, I’m sorry I haven’t prayed, well, really prayed until now. I know at the orphanage before we eat and sleep, we’re all supposed to pray together but you and me both know I just pretend so that it makes the nuns leave me alone. It’s just, whenever I pray it’s like you don’t hear me. But this time you did, so thank you. You let me meet my soulmate, I mean she’s waaaaay older than I thought she’d be, but I guess that’s okay since I’ll grow up eventually. I really like her…Do you think she likes me? I hope she does. Anyways, I really preciate (appreciate) it that you heard me. Now that Nat and me are together it can only mean good things are coming now right? I should go, my skin is getting all weird since I’ve been in the bath for a while. Thanks again God, I promise I’ll talk to you soon. Oh! Also, if you could make it so that it doesn’t hurt to breathe, I’d really like that. Amen.”

Mary kept trying to ignore her trouble with breathing, with happy thoughts in her mind.

_Sister Evangeline was right, all I had to do was wait and something good would happen to me. Sister Catherine doesn’t know what she’s talking about._

Sister Catherine is an awful nun who despises Mary and believes she will not go far in life. Whenever someone blames Mary for something she didn’t do, Sister Catherine always punished Mary, never once hearing her side of the story. Deciding to put Sister Catherine out of her mind, she called for Natasha. “NAT! I’M ALL DONE!” She waited for a moment trying to catch her breath. After not hearing a response she was about to call again but then stopped. She felt a tingling sensation on where the soul mark was on her thigh. The bond between them was letting Mary know Natasha was on her way. _Wow it’s only been like two hours since we met, and I can already feel when she’s near._

Hearing the bathroom door open she looked up to see Natasha walk in with a towel before she noticed Natasha was wearing a frown on her face. Mary was about to question what was wrong before Natasha changed her frown to a smile once she saw Mary looking at her. _I wonder when I’ll be able to feel what she’s feeling. I guess that’ll happen when our bond is super strong._

Without saying a word Natasha helped Mary out of the bath and gently dried her with the towel, trying not to hurt her. Once she finished, she wrapped Mary in the towel, picked her up, and softly put her on the bed.

It was quiet until Natasha finally spoke. “Okay, so you’ll have to wear one of my T-Shirt’s tonight. Unfortunately, we don’t have any kid underwear since no kid lives here with us, so…I guess you’ll just have to do without some tonight until Clint goes to the store tomorrow morning to get you some. Is that okay? If you’re that uncomfortable then I can force him to get some right now.” She waited for Mary’s response once the T-Shirt was on her.

Mary’s body tensed up, she was extremely uncomfortable, she wouldn’t care about not wearing underwear to bed if she didn’t wet the bed every night. _She’s going to think I’m a gross baby and then she won’t want to be around me…_

Natasha observed Mary’s posture, noting she was indeed not comfortable, “Should I tell Clint to go to the store?”

Mary contemplated what to tell her. Once getting her thoughts in order she decided not to tell Natasha that she wore diapers for protection from men, instead she gave her half the truth on why she wore diapers. “Um, I wear diapers because, I’m scared to use the potty and…I wet the bed a lot.” She was too embarrassed and scared to see Natasha’s face. Afraid she wouldn’t want to be near Mary anymore.

**Natasha**

_She’s 4 and wears diapers because she’s scared and wets the bed? I have a feeling there’s more to this but I’m not going to ask. She’s already embarrassed enough as it is, no need to make her feel worse. Damn it, I’m starting to care about her feelings more now._

“That’s okay, I’ll go ask Clint to pick up some diapers for you along with a pair of clothes while we get you checked out. That sound good?” Natasha asked.

Mary didn’t say anything for what felt like hours but was really only a few seconds until she asked, “Do I still get to eat food?”

Natasha gave her another smile “Of course you do. Come on, let’s go to the kitchen and get your food and don’t worry, Clint won’t make fun of you.”

Natasha noticed that Mary relaxed when she didn’t make a big deal of her wearing diapers still.

**Mary**

Mary felt relieved when Natasha didn’t look disgusted and when she mentioned Clint wouldn’t make fun of her. _Thank goodness._

“Come on, let’s go.” Natasha then started walking towards the door.

“Okie dokie.” Came from Mary as she followed Natasha out of the room.

As they both were walking into the kitchen Mary smelled the food Clint had made for her. Mary tried not to cry at the fact that for once her food is hot and not cold. _Oh my gosh, the food isn’t cold!_ At St. Agnes, the kids never get hot food because Sister Ruth (another abusive nun) is in charge of the cooking and threatens to punish anyone who tries to tell Sister Evangeline. Sister Evangeline unfortunately is not always at the orphanage, so she can’t make sure the kids are getting warm food or being cared for like they’re supposed to be. Most of the time she is away doing things for the church. When she is gone, Sister Catherine is often in charge and when she is, she doesn’t care for the kids like she is supposed to do and often encourages punishment towards the children, especially Mary.

Mary waited patiently while Natasha explained to Clint why he would need to visit the store so late. Once they were finished speaking, Natasha grabbed Mary’s food and all three of them walked to the elevator. On the way down Natasha warned Mary that the person who would be checking her over would in fact be a male, but she didn’t have to worry because he was one of her best friend’s like Clint.

Clint bent over next to her “Yeah, he’s a really good guy. He won’t hurt you.” Mary didn’t realize she tensed at the thought of a man checking over her injuries until she was reassured by both Natasha and Clint that he wouldn’t hurt her.

_You’re okay. You’re okay. Think of something else, like the park, oh! Like Sister Evangeline! Wait… Does she even know I’m missing? She always tells me not to go anywhere by myself but… I still don’t know how I got to that alley, all I remember is Penny being mean to me._

Mary looked towards Natasha and Clint “Hey guys, what’s going to happen after I get fixed up?”

Clint answered with “Well you’re going to bed silly.”

“We’ll talk about that tomorrow morning. For now, we worry about getting you looked over and making sure you don’t actually need to go to a hospital.” Natasha replied before Mary could question further.

Natasha and Mary were dropped off at the labs first “See you both when I get back” Clint called as the elevator door closed.

Mary followed Natasha into what she thought was a clinic and stopped to take a look around. _This place is big. It’s like its own hospital._

“Mary, I’d like you to meet my friend Bruce Banner. He’s going to be checking you over.” Natasha said walking to her with Bruce.

Looking at Bruce, Mary deemed him friendly looking enough. _Nat’s here. Nothing’s going to happen. Be cool Mary, you’re 4 so relax._

Putting out his hand Bruce introduces himself “It’s a pleasure to meet you Mary, Natasha here tells me you got very hurt. Would it be alright with you if I took a look? If not that’s okay, but it’d probably be best if I could see.” He wanted her to feel as though she were in control and wanted to form some kind of trust between them.

Mary was shocked that he gave her a choice. It made her feel like an adult, like she had some power. She never had that feeling, and she was happy that she could say no if she wanted to. After thinking it over, and stealing a small glance at Natasha, she said yes and sat on a bed wanting to get it over with.

Taking out his stethoscope he started listening to Mary’s heart and said, “Try to take deep breaths please.”

As Mary was trying to take deep breaths, she heard Natasha start to hum the song she heard from when they were at the alley and smiled. “What song is that Nat?”

“It’s called ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ it’s actually my favorite because this one time when Clint was bringing me to his job for the first time, he was able to tell I was uncomfortable so he thought some music would be a good idea and turned on the radio. This was the first song that came on and I don’t know, I just fell in love with it I guess.” Natasha trailed off, getting lost in the memory.

Mary winced when she felt pressure on her chest and looked down to see Bruce pressing softly on her chest. Before stopping and stepping away from her to write notes on his clipboard.

Bruce sighed heavily, tired from being woken up by Jarvis and upset that someone would do this to a child. “There’s no broken bones, but they are bruised. You’re going to have to be extra careful for a while until they heal Mary. No running, no lifting anything too heavy, no climbing stuff, extra careful. You’ll hurt yourself further if you don’t take it easy. I’m going to give you some medicine to help you with the pain. You need to remember to take it, Understand?”

“Yes sir.” Mary replied politely, Natasha then gave her the food and pulled Bruce to the side to speak privately. Mary looked at her food, staring at it. _It’s still warm._ She stared at it for a while until she saw a tear splatter on her plate. _It’s still warm. I get warm food._ Her mind goes back and forth showing her a flash back of the cold mush the orphanage gives her, to the present of her current food in front of her (spaghetti, vegetables, and a garlic roll). She scarfed her food down, not bothering to wipe her tears. She was so happy. When she was finished eating, she put her plate down on the bed, wiped her tears, and waited for Natasha to get her.

“Miss Mary, I’m glad to see you have eaten, but are you alright? Would you like me to call miss Romanoff back for you? Or would you like to listen to some music, I hear that helps when someone is upset.” Jarvis asked the young girl. Mary grinned at the ceiling. “Actually, how about you and me talk Jarvis?”

“Ahh, very well miss Mary. What would you like to talk about?”

Mary and Jarvis spent a good bit talking about random nonsense and colors and somehow ended up debating about how milk is better with ice in it.

“Hey Jarvis, will you please play the song ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart?’” Mary asked suddenly, wanting to know what the song Natasha loved the most sounded like.

“Certainly, miss Mary, wait one moment please.” The next thing Mary knew the song was playing and Mary found herself enjoying it more than she thought she would be.

  _I’m getting kinda sleepy._ Mary hadn’t realized she fell asleep sitting up until Natasha startled her with her arrival.

**Natasha**

“Hey, ready to go? Clint is waiting for us.” Natasha said, holding a bag with Mary’s medicine.

Nodding her head, Mary got off the bed with Natasha’s assistance and the two headed to the red head’s floor. “To my floor Jarvis.”

“Right away miss.” Mary felt that it was a little rude to not thank the invisible computer man since he was doing whatever was demanded of him, so she tugged on Natasha’s shirt and when the red head looked at Mary, she stated “You have to say thank you when someone does something for you.” Natasha stood there staring into Mary’s eyes thinking _adorable_. When the elevator dinged and as they were stepping off Natasha said, “Thank you Jarvis.”

“You’re welcome miss. It seems as though young Mary is becoming quite an influence on you.” The British AI said in a way that sounded as though he were teasing Natasha. She was about to comment on it until Mary told her she did a good job.

Once they stepped into the living room the two saw Clint sitting on the couch watching TV. “Hey guys, how’d it go?” he asked not even bothering to turn around to see them.

“It went as could be expected.” With hearing that come from his partner he got up and went to Mary.

Clint handed her the bag of diapers “Here ya go kiddo. I kind of had to guess on your size for everything so I’m sorry if they don’t fit correctly.” Mary shrugged at Clint’s apology, she was simply happy she had her protection.

_I’ve never had to deal with kids… or diapers…_

Natasha rubbed her neck feeling awkward “So... Do you need any help putting it on?”

Mary blushed and said no she was able to do it herself and left to the bathroom.

_Thank goodness. That’s something that is just too much to handle for one night._ “Thanks for going to the store.”

Clint looked her dead in the eyes “I’m going to bed, everyone wants to have breakfast tomorrow morning. Since you’re so set on just dropping her off at the orphanage and forgetting her, try not to get her hopes up that she most likely won’t see you ever again.” With that being out in the open he left her standing alone in the room.

_He’s just angry. He hasn’t met his soulmate yet, so he doesn’t understand it completely. This is what’s best._ She tried reassuring herself.

Hearing a door open she looked up to see Mary walking in “I’m done.”

“Ready to get some sleep then?” When receiving a nod from Mary she took her into a guest bedroom and tucked her in. “I’ll come get you tomorrow morning and then we’re going to talk after breakfast. Okay?”

Feeling even more exhausted Mary put her thumb inside her mouth and said “Okay.”

“Goodnight Mary.” As she was closing the door to the room, she nearly missed Mary whisper “I love you Nat.”

Shocked, Natasha stood silently outside the bedroom. _She loves me? Wait… she’s 4. They love just about everything around them. She doesn’t get what it really means to love someone yet, still though…_

Deciding to put it out of her mind she went to her own room and sleep.

 

9 am Still at the Tower

**Mary**

_Ahhhh, I’m so warm. This bed is so soft, I never want to get out._ “Good morning miss Mary. Did you sleep well?” Mary looked at the ceiling fascinated “Good morning Jarvis. I did, thank you for asking.”

“Good to hear, I have alerted miss Romanoff that you are awake, she will be here in a moment.” _He’s so cool. Wait… Is an invisible computer a boy or a girl? Well he has a boy’s voice, so he has to be a boy obviously._ Mary thought, proud with the conclusion she came up with. Mary heard a quick knock on the door before it opened revealing a recently showered Natasha Romanoff.

“Morning sleepy head. Care to join my friends and I for breakfast once you’re dressed?” Mary nodded her head and proceeded with getting dressed going slowly as not to agitate her ribs. Natasha stood by the door waiting around in case she needed help. She did fairly well only needing help when it came to bend over to put on her pants. Once finished they both went to the floor with the group waiting for the both of them. All wanting to know how Mary got to the alley in the first place.

Mary felt frightened when they came to a floor with nearly all men with the exception of another lady with beautiful hair that Mary couldn’t decide was blonde or red. _She’s pretty but not as pretty as Nat._ Mary decided.

As they were walking towards the table where everyone was waiting with food on their plates, they all turned their heads when they noticed both Natasha and Mary walk to them. Mary started slowing her pace and stopped a few feet away from the table. Noticing how the little girl was tense everyone sent a kind smile towards her causing her to slightly relax and take one of the two empty seats that were next to each other. She was grateful when she found herself sitting between Natasha and the lady with the beautiful hair.

“Okay, so how about we all introduce ourselves to our guest before we eat?” a man with blonde hair asked. _Have I seen him before? Wait, I think he was there last night…_

“Great idea Cap. I’ll go first since I’m the best and the best should always go first.” _Well he’s a little rude._ “Okay kid, I’m sure you’ve heard of me and if you haven’t well… now you do. My name’s Tony Stark, one of the greatest people you’ll ever have the pleasure of meeting! Seriously I invent many things that you’ll either end up using or already are using.” Tony yelled, then his eyes turned soft as he looked to her “I’m glad you’re okay, last night was rough. Don’t worry though, that guy won’t bother you again. Old Cap here and I handled it.” He said grinning to the blonde man sitting next to him.

Mary’s lips slightly curved up and that made everyone around the table smile even bigger, happy that Mary was somewhat at ease.

“I guess I’ll go next then. My name’s Steve Rogers, we met last night, but it was pretty hectic. I’m not as ‘great’ as Tony when it comes to technology… or really anyone but I’m getting there. I’ve seen a couple of… I guess kids your age would say ‘snazzy’ movies?” Steve asked looking around with a questioning look that asks if he said that correctly. Mary couldn’t help but giggle at his words knowing that absolutely no one uses that word.

“The hell? No one says that!” Tony screamed.

“Language! We have a child present!” Steve scolded Tony who then started sulking that he wouldn’t be able to curse as long as Mary was present.

Clint turned towards her “You already know who I am so the only thing I’m going to say is I’m Natasha’s partner when it comes down to our jobs.”

Bruce looked at her “We met last night but in case you forgot I’m Bruce, I teach a lot and am also a doctor whenever the situation calls for it.”

“I’m Pepper Potts, I work with Tony and help him run the company. I also help manage and make sure everyone here doesn’t destroy anything when they all argue over the most pointless of things.” Pepper said, glaring at everyone when they started protesting even though they all know it’s true.

Mary looked around, taking everyone in. _They all live here? Jeez how many bathrooms does this place have?_ Realizing it was her turn to introduce herself Mary glanced at Natasha who gave a small nod.

Taking in a breath she spoke “My name’s Mary, uhm I’m 4 and I like to color, dance, sing, oh! I like to play on the swings!” She looked around the table and noticed everyone was smiling at her, how they actually seemed interested in her and Mary felt happy about it. Turning to Natasha who gave a smile and a small nod telling her to continue. “My favorite color is blue, aaannndd I’m going to start Kindergarten soon! I can’t read yet, but I know my ABCs!” She stated proudly and noticed how everyone’s smiles grew wider, like they were proud as well. “Hmm, I also love superheroes!” Everyone tried not to outright laugh at the irony in that. Not knowing what else to say and growing a little nervous, Mary started playing with her shirt.

Natasha turned to the others “Okay, now that introductions are done, why don’t we all eat and then talk after?” Receiving affirming nods from everyone, they all started eating. Mary tried not to cry at the fact that yet again she was able to eat warm food.

Pepper noticed Mary’s tears and how she was trying not to cry and softly asked, “What’s wrong Mary?” Everyone tried not to stare at her, but they all wanted to know as well.

Taking in a breath, trying to compose herself Mary said “It’s just, we don’t get to eat warm food at St. Agnes. It’s usually always cold and mushy or hard like a rock. I just feel so lucky that I actually get to eat this.”

Everyone had a mixture of feelings such as anger, sadness, and pity.

Deciding they’d all talk about this later they changed the conversation. They ate and quietly told jokes around the table and asking Mary questions about herself every now and then. Even Mary questioned them about how they all lived together to which Clint said they’re all business partners.

Once they were all done eating, they all went to the couch and sat down, each of the avengers looking at each other wondering how to start this off. Tony decided it was best to just get it done and over with. “Hey kid, can you tell us what happened? How did you get in that alley? Where are your parents?” Tony asked gently, everyone was somewhat surprised at how he turned so gentle to Mary as they’ve never seen him act like that as much.

Mary grew nervous but explained what she could remember. _I can do this._ She explained how she doesn’t have parents but lives at the orphanage with the other kids and nuns who are awful to her. She explained how she was enjoying her day at the park, how she was at her favorite spot, how she had been picked on and how her head got fuzzy, how it was hard to breathe, and then just somehow ending up in the alley, waking up in the middle of the night. Then how she heard breathing come from the corner and how the disgusting man started doing things to her. Once she was finished, she was in tears, she didn’t even realize she was crying until she felt Natasha wipe them away.

**Natasha**

Natasha’s face was stoic, not letting her emotions show. Looking at the others she noted how they all had grown sad and angry at what Mary explained. Natasha was furious. _She was just enjoying her time alone and some bratty kid decided to bully her for no reason? I don’t even think she’s aware that she had a panic attack…_

It was quiet, and Natasha knew it was making Mary more nervous. Clearing her throat “Natasha explained “Mary, I contacted the orphanage earlier and explained to them what happened last night. I’ll be taking you there after lunchtime and then we’re going to talk to the one in charge about what you just explained to us, okay?”

She noted how Mary slumped her shoulders when Natasha said she’d be returning her. “Okay.” Mary whispered, not wanting to look at her or anyone at the moment. _Shit._

It wasn’t just Mary who was upset though, looking around Natasha could see everyone was upset at the fact the little girl would have to leave them. Tony was about to open his mouth and speak until Pepper shot him a look saying no, they couldn’t keep her. Pouting he excused himself and left, Pepper following him, no doubt those two would be in an argument the entire time.

Steve and Bruce left, wanting to give the girl some space. Clint turned to Natasha, they spoke to each other with their eyes.

C: Please, we can protect her, you don’t have to be apart.

N: No. It’s too dangerous.

C: So is not accepting the bond. You know what’ll happen if you reject it. Are you honestly going to let that happen to her?

N: I know. I just need some time to think. Get out, I need to speak to her alone.

Understanding Natasha may not reject her soulmate and the bond between them, Clint left to let the two have the needed chat between the two soulmates.

Now alone with the silent child Natasha felt her heart aching, but she didn’t understand why. “Mary, do you know the laws of soulmates and the marks and bonds and how everything is the way it is?”

Mary looked at Natasha like she’d grown two heads “Yeah, even though we mostly learn about God at the orphanage they still teach us about soulmates.”

“Can you please tell me everything you know? It’s just so that I can make sure that you understand everything.” Natasha said wanting to know how much Mary knew.

Sighing. Mary tells Natasha of what she learned at the orphanage “God got lonely, so he created a human and left him on Earth and visited him when he wasn’t busy…uhm I kind of didn’t listen completely when the nuns brought up God and how he created stuff like the earth and the other planets... but I do remember the other stuff.”

“That’s alright, just tell me what you know.” Natasha pushed.

“Okay, so then the human got lonely whenever God was away, so God created more humans, but the human wanted someone that was just for him, so then God decided to create a girl just for him, but the human wanted proof she was for him and no one else. Only God didn’t think it was fair to make it so easy for one person to find love and not let the others. So, he made it so that you’d have to look for the person you’re meant to be with. The humans didn’t think that was fair and wanted help looking. So, God put the first words of ever speaking to the person you’re meant to be with somewhere on your body, which are the soul marks. Once you meet, a bond between the soulmates starts forming and it eventually has to be completed… The nuns didn’t tell us what that meant though.” Mary stopped, looking at Natasha.

Natasha sat not saying anything. _Wow, the nuns really pushed that God did everything. Well, everything comes from something I suppose. Even though no one knows if it’s really true that God created the soul marks. Then again, no one knows if God truly exists. I’m getting off topic._ “Do you know more or is that all you learned?”

_There’s no way I’m telling her that to complete the bond you’d have to have sex. No way. Why did I have to get a soulmate that’s 20 years younger than me? We wouldn’t be able to complete the bond until she’s around 20. Good thing I age slowly._

“I know more. I know that eventually you’ll be able to feel your soulmates feelings, um when they get hurt you feel it too, and that you can feel when your soulmates near. The nuns never told us what happens if you don’t want to be with your soulmate though. They said it rarely ever happens because the need to be with each other is super strong, so they don’t see the point in telling us what happens if you’re not accepted…” Mary stopped, wondering why she was being asked about soul marks and bonds.

_Shit. I forgot that if you reject your soulmate after actually meeting them in person that it’s dangerous for the one you reject._

When a soulmate rejects the other person, it causes physical and psychological damage to the one who does want to be together. If the rejected person (soulmate A) is not able to move on from the person (soulmate B) who does not want them, then soulmate A will become violently sick, then go insane, and eventually die from what scientists theorized was Broken Heart Syndrome. It is possible for the rejected soulmate to survive if they are able to push the bond away completely but that nearly never happens. The bond is near impossible to just ignore once the soulmates have met in person and the need to be near each other, to be together, to be complete is so overwhelming it drives people insane if they don’t accept each other.

It is still a mystery as to how soulmate B is able to reject soulmate A so easily though. There’s a theory that the ones who are able to reject their soulmates possess some type of imbalance within them that cannot be explained, and so scientists are still testing experiments on those who were able to reject their soulmates.

In most of the US it is against the law to reject your soul bond. Since it was so rare for someone to reject their soulmate no one really cared that it was a law. Almost no one tried to stop what fate wanted them to have.

_I can’t let her die by me rejecting the bond. At the same time, I can’t let her die from my enemies. Hmm… If I’m near her without her knowing, then it’ll be possible for her to live. Besides, I can already tell I don’t have the imbalance to ignore our bond. I’m just going to have to see her without her knowing, it should be enough for now. Until I can figure out what to do and how to keep her safe. At least I’m not outright rejecting her._

Natasha grabbed Mary’s chin between her fingers, making her look Natasha dead in the eyes “Mary, I need you to understand, I won’t always be able to see you. I work a lot, my job is extremely important, and most of the time I’m almost never in the country. I’m not rejecting you or the bond, but I need you to understand that you’ll hardly be seeing me around. Do you understand?” Natasha needed Mary to understand that she is not rejecting her, they just won’t be seeing and being with each other for a long time.

Mary looked upset but at the same time hopeful that her soulmate is basically saying that one day they may be able to be together “So, one day we can be together? Just not now?”

Natasha felt heartbroken for getting the girls hopes up when she didn’t even know if she could really promise that. “We’ll see, remember though, I work a lot and I don’t want you to become upset if we don’t see each other for a long time because it’s like I told you, my work is just too important.”

Mary looked at the ground and quietly whispered “More important than me?”

Natasha didn’t know what to say, she kept opening and closing her mouth, not knowing what to do. Suddenly, Mary looked up at her with a big smile on her face, as if she was not just sad a minute ago. “It’s okay, everything’s more important than me. I get it. It might be a long time before we see each other. Can we play before you take me back?”

Stunned Natasha nodded her head at the little girl. Before the girl could suggest a game, Natasha spoke again “Mary… I’m afraid you can’t tell anyone you met me, or that you met any of my friends either.”

“Of course, … You’re ashamed of me, I am too...” Mary angrily whispered to herself, not thinking Natasha heard her even though she did. Not understanding how to handle Mary’s back and forth feelings she was quiet until Mary responded with “Okay! I won’t tell anyone haha. Now come on!” with that Mary started running ideas on what games they should play and that everyone should play too.

Natasha has never felt so ashamed of herself for asking her soulmate to not let anyone know they met. Of course, Natasha wants people to know but it isn’t safe. _I’m so sorry. You should be ashamed of me, not the other way around. It’s not fair._ Telling Jarvis to invite the others to join in on the games she went to help Mary come up with what games they should play.

For the next few hours Mary and everyone played games and ate lunch together until it was time for Mary to return back to St. Agnes. Mary grew confused on why Natasha was wearing a wig that was a different color than hers and putting on make up to make herself look different, until Natasha explained how no one can know who she is because a lot of people are mad at her about the “business” she does and how some want to hurt her. With understanding Mary nods her head and goes to say her goodbyes to everyone.

Pepper gave her a hug, kiss, and a plate full of sweets telling her how they are for her and how she doesn’t have to share if she doesn’t want too. None of the boys hugged her, knowing she’s still not ready to be hugged by a man. Steve gave her a smile and ruffled her head and wished her well. Tony gave her a sad smile and gave her a fist bump, telling her how one day if she were ever interested, he could teach her how he made Jarvis (Natasha told him about how Mary’s face lit up whenever Jarvis spoke). She grew excited at that. Bruce reminded her to take her medicine and to be careful. He told her how he’d miss her as well and hoped one day they’d meet up again. Clint bent over to her and ruffled her hair as well telling her not to worry, he’d keep an eye on Natasha for her. With the goodbyes done and over with, Natasha led them out.

“Jarvis, send us down.” With another thought coming into her mind she added “Please.”

“Right away miss Romanoff.” Mary looked at Natasha, smiling that she remembered to use manners.

As they entered the underground parking lot and were about to leave the elevator, Mary heard Jarvis say his goodbye to her “Goodbye miss Mary, I do hope you come back. It has been a pleasure to have you here.” Mary felt tears come to her eyes but didn’t let them fall as she said her goodbye to Jarvis “Goodbye Jarvis, I’ll miss you.”

With that, Natasha took Mary’s hand and took her “home.”


	5. Goodbye For Now

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry everyone, I’ve been pretty sick, so I hadn’t been able to work on this as much. I just got slightly better so I’m able to update again! This is actually going to be a short chapter because I’m still kind of feeling like crap, but I promise the next ones will be long. The next chapter will be of the avengers talking about Mary, and after that it’ll be one or two chapters of Mary growing up and Nat watching from the shadows and making appearances. But I just wanted to get their temporary goodbye over with.  
> SE – means Sister Evangeline  
> I honestly didn’t want to write out her name the entire time lol

**Mary**

Becoming somewhat tired of walking, Mary couldn’t help but whine a bit “How come we didn’t take a car?”

“It’s so that we won’t be noticeable from the bad people and so that those people who are always taking pictures won’t bother us.”

_That makes sense… I think._

It was quiet for a bit longer, both lost in thought. _If Nat is sending me back to St. Agnes, maybe she thinks someone’s gonna adopt me one day? So maybe she wants me to find my forever family first and then be together? That doesn’t make sense though, since she’s gonna be a part of my forever family…_ “Nat, do you think someone will adopt me someday? Is that why you’re sending me back?” She wanted to hear Natasha’s thoughts before assuming anything.

Taking a minute to think about what to say, Natasha sent a smile her way “Well it’s like I told you earlier, I have important work that can’t be put off right now. It’s work that a kid shouldn’t be around.” She waited for Mary to yet again process that information before continuing. “Also, of course someone will. You’re a great kid. Just give it a little time, someday you’ll get the family you deserve. I’m sure they’re looking for you, whether they realize it or not. So please try to be a little more patient.”

Mary smiled, feeling reassured she held her head a little higher. _Yeah, I’ll get the family I deserve. They’re just waiting for me that’s all._ Deciding to ignore Natasha’s comment about her work, Mary opted for day dreaming about the future awaiting for her.

The rest of the walk was left in silence, neither of them knowing what else there is to say. Both being upset with this situation.

Finally reaching St. Agnes, they both stood there gathering themselves. Natasha knocked on the door of St. Agnes and waited for someone to open the door. Mary was fidgeting in her spot, nervous of being back. _Sister Catherine is probably going to punish me. Great._

The door opened slowly, and a small head peaked itself out. “Can I help you?” _Noah_ Mary recognized. “Oh! Mary you’re back! Quick come inside, I’ll go get Sister Evangeline! She’s been so worried about you!” Noah yelled as he went to go get their favorite nun. _Noah’s back_ It’s been a good 5 months since either kid have seen each other.

Noah is an 8-year-old little blonde boy who likes spending time with Mary when they’re both at the orphanage. They do their best to comfort each other when they’ve been sent back from foster homes.

_Sister Evangeline’s still here? Huh, today’s Monday isn’t it? Wasn’t she supposed to go on another errand for the church? Is she still here cuz I was gone?_

Natasha and Mary both waited by the door standing somewhat awkwardly next to each other. “Mary, I’m going to talk to… what’s her name again?”

“Sister Evangeline, she’s a nice lady. I can’t believe she’s still here, she’s usually gone doing stuff for the church” Mary said, smiling when she thought of the kindness the nun always treats her with.”

“Right. Well, I’m going to have a talk with her. I just want to ask her a question is all, okay? So, I’m going to need you to wait for me out here so that we can say our goodbyes after I’m done talking.”

Feeling saddened at the realization that they really wouldn’t be seeing each other for a while, Mary responded sadly “I understand.”

Before Natasha could attempt to make her feel better, Sister Evangeline showed up, engulfing Mary in a tight hug, making the little girl flinch from her injuries and try to subtly move away from SE. “Mary! Thank heavens you’re alright! Where have you been? Are you hurt?! Don’t you dare try lying to me, you never move away from me when it comes to hugging. What happened? Have you eaten? Who’s this?” she asked quickly, not taking a breath until she finished asking. Then looking towards Natasha, she held out her hand.

“Hello, my name is Evangeline. I’m one of the caretakers of little Mary. May I ask who you are… Please could you tell me what happened?” She asked, extremely concerned.

Natasha was angry at this woman from the fact that Mary was supposed to be in her care and yet ended up in a dangerous situation. “Natasha.” She spoke in a cold clipped tone.

Mary grew worried _Nat sounds mad…_

**Natasha**

Natasha glared at the woman. “We need to talk.”

Nodding in agreement, Sister Evangeline walked them to her office. “We can speak in my office, no one will bother us here.”

_They better not._

“What should I do?” Mary asked.

Sister Evangeline looked at Mary’s face, seeing how upset she was to be separated from Natasha. “Sweetheart, why don’t you go wait for her on the bench? That way when it’s time to say goodbye you won’t miss her.”

Frowning, Mary nodded “Okay”

Receiving a small nod of approval from Natasha, Mary sat on the bench, watching the two women walking into the office.

Inside Sister Evangeline’s Office

“Before we start with what you want to talk about, could you please tell me what happened to Mary and how she received those injuries?” Sister Evangeline asked, worried for the small child.

Reigning in her anger, Natasha explained what Mary endured and where she spent the night. Once finished, Natasha handed SE Mary’s medicine and explained her restrictions while she’s healing. SE was trying to not let her emotions get the best of her, she too was angry at herself for not watching Mary closely enough and of the experience Mary received. Now that she had received the information and stored it away in her memory, she was ready to speak with whatever Natasha wanted.

“Thank you for telling me. So, what did you wish to speak about?” Sister Evangeline questioned.

Natasha took in a deep breath, trying not to yell at the woman in front of her. _Don’t kill her yet._ “I want to know how it’s possible that a 4-year-old child disappeared from your care.”

Sighing, SE looked sadly at Natasha before trying to explain what happened. “Do you know how many children live here? Exactly?”

Natasha’s anger grew. _No excuse._ “It doesn’t matter how many live here. What matters is that one disappeared. On your watch.”

“I’m not denying it’s my fault. It’s just that… Mary normally is away from the group when we go on our trips to the park… or anywhere really. Not because we don’t want her to be near us, it’s because she wants her space and we let her have it. There are many children that live here and so there’s not a lot of privacy, and sometimes she just feels comfortable being away from people. She’s the one who is picked on the most for some reason. We always have an eye on her when she’s a bit away from us of course. I saw Penny talking to her and knew there would be an argument soon. I was going to intervene, but then all the other children came running to us. It seems that one was on the Merry go round and fell off and broke an arm. That caused a panic to the rest of them, so we had to go and calm everyone else down and tend to the one who was injured. We were so distracted that none of us noticed Mary was gone until we looked over to her normal spot and did not see her.” SE explained to Natasha.

_Still no excuse… Wanted her space huh? She didn’t really want that when she was at the tower. She only wanted that when it was bath time and when she went to put on the diaper. Any other time she had no problem being around all of us…_

SE continued “I contacted the police of course. They said she had to be missing for over 24 hours to start the search though. Excuse my language but they’re idiots. The only thing we could do was wait for the 24-hour mark. Over 20 kids live here, not to mention that there’s always more being sent. We do our best to give everyone the attention they need but there’s just not enough of us to go around. We try our best to get people to foster and/or adopt them but even then, there’s the possibility that they get sent back. There’s a lot of people who were not ready for the commitment of being a parent.” Feeling as though she explained the situation enough, SE asked “Now, is there anything else you wish to speak about?”

“There’s something else that Mary said that has me concerned. She said that the kids here only ever get fed cold mushy stuff. Fix that.” Natasha demanded. _There is no way my soulmate is going to continue being fed shit._

SE was confused “I don’t understand, I’ve been told by Sister Ruth that the children eat nothing but nutritious food?”

“Well she lied. She’s been lying. The kids have been eating crap. Fix it. If you don’t, I will.” Natasha spoke dangerously.

“I’ll get right on it as soon as we are done. I’ll also have to contact the police and tell them that Mary has been found.”

Thinking over what Sister Evangeline explained and promised, Natasha’s anger went down slightly. “Tell me about her.”

SE smiled, knowing who she was talking about “Mary is a special child. Does her best to not let anyone know what she’s feeling but I’m sure you can already tell she shows it in her eyes. She does her best to help me with paperwork. Declares herself my ‘Personal Assistant’ when I’m visiting here. She’s a stubborn child, always stands up for the other kids, except when it comes to herself. She also just can’t quite keep out of trouble. She has panic attacks when things become too overwhelming for her. She hasn’t had an easy life. That’s all I’m going to say because her file is confidential unless you’re going to foster or adopt her, which I have a feeling you’re not going to do.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Okay then. I promise you, we’ll be keeping a better eye on her. This will not happen again. Thank you again, for caring for her in her time of need.” SE promised.

Nodding at her promise, Natasha stood and spoke one last time to SE “You’re right, she is special. You better keep your promise.” Then left out the door to the waiting child.

Outside the Office

Natasha grabbed Mary’s hand and pulled her to the front door of St. Agnes. Once they were both outside, they stood on the front steps quietly, waiting for the other to speak.

_There’s no point in dragging this out._

Not wanting to put it off any longer, Natasha said her goodbye to Mary “Alright Mary, I’m afraid I have to leave now.”

**Mary**

Mary did her best not to let her sadness show. “Right, but we’re going to see each other one day.” She smiled wobbly.

“One day. Now I really do have to go.”

Mary gave her a tight hug. “Bye Nat, thank you for taking care of me.” Mary said both gratefully and sad.

“Anyone would’ve done it kid, but you’re welcome. Be good.” With that Natasha turned away and walked off, not once looking back, like Mary wished she would have.

10 Minutes Later

Mary didn’t realize she was still waiting on the steps of the orphanage until she heard the door open.

Hearing the door open behind her, Mary turned around and saw Sister Evangeline looking down at her with a sad smile. “Come Mary, we have to have words of our own.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Taking Sister Evangeline’s hand, they both turned to walk inside. Unlike Natasha though, Mary turned around and glanced at the gates Natasha had walked through.


	6. Trying to Understand

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *NOTE* Guys there’s a chapter that’s stuck in my head that I really want to share. I’m so upset that it’s a chapter that’s far into the story though lol. Like I already have the chapter written because it wouldn’t leave my head, and I wrote it just so I wouldn’t forget. I want to upload it, but I know I have to write the chapters that’ll lead up to it XD

**Natasha**

Natasha is currently walking back to the tower, trying to forget everything about Mary for the moment. Trying to forget how small she looked, how she looked malnourished, how she looked unhappy. She was doing her best but wasn’t succeeding. It’s like Mary’s very existence is life itself for Nat. Natasha couldn’t understand why though. _I barely know the kid._ Still though… Her captivating smile, her beautiful laugh, her angelic eyes that held tears that the little girl would not let fall. Natasha felt empty. When Mary was next to her… it felt right. She felt whole.

_Damn it. I need to stop thinking about her. It won’t help either of us if I rush back there and steal her. She needs to live her life without me for now. She needs to forget me. If only I could erase her memories._

Sighing, Natasha spoke to herself “Well, it’s not like we’re never going to see each other again. Just gotta wait until she’s an adult and can handle herself in a fight if necessary… until then I’ll watch from a distance. That should keep the bond from hurting her since it’s not rejection… It’s just not the right time.”

_Besides she still needs to find a family to adopt her and give her a childhood. She can’t have that with me. She doesn’t know I’m a monster yet and I don’t want to ruin her image of me yet._

Even though Natasha’s thoughts were everywhere she was still on guard. Making sure no one was following her, she finally made it into the secret underground parking lot of the tower.

When she stepped into the elevator she wasn’t prepared for the attitude she received.

“Ahh welcome back miss Romanoff, I take it miss Mary is now ‘home’” Jarvis spoke sounding snippy.

Looking up at the ceiling of the elevator “Don’t start with me Jarvis, her place is not with us. Not yet. Just take me to where everyone is.”

“Very well.” Jarvis said, loosing his attitude at the revelation that Mary may actually return in the future.

Natasha took off her wig and started wiping off her makeup with the small makeup remover wipes she had in her pocket.

* * *

 

In the Common Room

Upon stepping out of the elevator she was met with five faces staring at her, waiting for her to explain what happened while at the orphanage. _So, I see no one’s going to welcome me back._

Natasha smirked “I know I look gorgeous, thanks for noticing guys.”

Everyone looked dumbfounded at her, except Clint who chuckled lightly at her joke.

Tony was confused “So, are we going to ignore the fact that an awesomely kind cute kid just came into our lives out of nowhere and is now gone?” _Better that way._

Natasha looked him dead in the eyes “Yup. If you ignore the fact, then it won’t be a problem.”

Tony became exasperated “Are we supposed to pretend not to care? I mean, I know we’ve only known her a few hours and that we can’t keep her, but did we really have to send her back to the orphanage? Maybe I could’ve found someone to watch her… anything’s gotta be better than staying at that place.”

Unlike Tony, Pepper thought about her words before he spoke. “I hate to say this, but he’s got a point. Mary did say they feed the kids cold gross stuff. Maybe we should do something? Maybe have an inactive agent caring for her?” She tried suggesting calmly.

Everyone nodded in agreement except the red head. _Absolutely not._

Natasha took in a deep breath that went unnoticed to everyone except her partner. “I want everyone to listen to me carefully. No. We’re not going to do anything. We’re going to leave her alone and not interfere.”

Everyone looked at her, stunned. They understood not being able to keep or meet Mary again, they did live dangerous lives, but they didn’t understand why they weren’t being allowed to help her have a safe place to stay. A place she can grow up.

Steve was the one who asked what everyone was thinking. “Why not? How can you be okay with her being there? She should have someone who will give her warm meals. She’s a little kid who deserves love and attention.”

Natasha agreed with him. Full heartedly. But she knew it wasn’t their place to get involved. “Food shouldn’t be a problem anymore. I gave the head nun my warning.” No one questioned Nat when it came to her warnings.

She continued. “Also, what about all those other kids? It wouldn’t be fair to them. There are a bunch of kids just like her, and there will always be kids just like her. It’s one thing to save her from a pervert, it’s another thing entirely to decide things for her life like who will be taking care of her. It isn’t our place.”

Clint was angry. “Are you honestly serious right now? Just because we can’t help every kid doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be able to help her. Please Tasha. She’s a good kid.” He all but got on his knees, begging her to change her mind.

Natasha was growing angry as well. _Just accept my answer._ She glared at him. “So is just about every other kid. I gave you my answer and that answer is no. We aren’t social workers, it’s not our job. We let her live her life as if we had never met her.” She then walked off, stepping into the elevator, telling Jarvis to send her to her floor.

The room was quiet. No one knowing what to say.

Clint sat there for a moment, gathering his thoughts before standing up and following her.

* * *

 

Others still in the room talking

Tony was irritated and annoyed that he was being denied something. “What the hell just happened? Are we seriously not going to do anything? Damn it, I have a headache now. Freaking Widow. I’m glad I’m not her soulmate. You know Black Widow spiders eat their mates? I feel bad for her soulmate. They’ll get eaten alive by her, honestly.”

Pepper, Steve, and Bruce all looked at Tony, not really believing he just said that.

Tony noticed their stares. “What? It’s true.”

“You’re right that Black Widows eat their mates… who are male. What if Natasha got a female as a soulmate?” Bruce questioned.

Breathing out a huff, Tony murmured “Well either way she’s going to eat them alive.”

Pepper, deciding to move on before he can say anything else unnecessary, decided to answer his questions and help find a solution. “No clue as to what happened, but Nat’s right, we can’t save them all… but we can help the orphanage. Donate some money to them so they can have real food? Maybe that’s what the food problem is? Hmm… As for Mary… We can be updated on her, Tony this is one of the only time’s I’m going to be okay with it.” She gave him a pointed look.

“Are you serious? You’re not going to get mad? Like honestly it’s totally fine?” Tony couldn’t believe she was allowing it. It happened very few times. He knows he doesn’t need approval from her since he is a grown man, but anything’s better than being on the receiving end of her anger. He was extremely happy.

Sighing, starting to regret her decision but knowing this will make everyone happy, Pepper responded “Yes, I won’t be angry. Just to keep an eye though, that’s it. Like Nat said, we can’t get involved.”

Steve was confused as to what they were talking about. “Okay so what are you guys talking about? Because we’re confused.”

Bruce agreed. “Yeah, but I am a little afraid. It’s rare when Pepper says something is okay for you to do.” He said jokingly.

Looking at the two other men in the room, Tony squealed like a high school girl telling her friends she was asked out by her crush, “She’s giving me permission to hack and keep track of Mary! Wait she’s 4 so there’s not going to be school records or anything yet.”

Before he could continue Bruce interrupted. “I’m not sure this is a good idea, you know what Natasha decided. She’s not going to like this.” He warned them lightly.

Tony gave him a face that screamed I DON’T GIVE A FUCK. “Well it’s a good thing I don’t care. The kid deserves for someone to watch out for her at least, whether she knows it or not. If we can’t be there in person or have someone of our choice take care of her, then this is what I’m going to do. Besides we’re not getting involved in her life… Just watching. Wait… We don’t even know her last name?!”

Pepper gave him an annoyed look. “Like that’s ever stopped you before. Just hack into St. Agnes Orphanage. They might have computers. If they don’t… we could send in a ‘spy’ to take a peek at her records while the nun is busy”

Sending a huge grin to her and giving her a sloppy wet kiss on the cheek Tony yelled “I knew there was a reason I kept you around!”

Sending him a smirk, Pepper teased him. “Yeah, I’m the reason your company is still alive.”

“Hey now…” Not knowing how to continue he just opened and closed his mouth like a fish.

“That’s what I thought” Pepper gave him a satisfied smile.

“You know what!”

As they’re bickering, Steve and Bruce make a bet.

“This can’t end well. How do you think it’s going to end? I predict Tony getting his ass handed to him on the mats while Nat suggests ‘sparring’ with him.” He said looking at Steve.

Steve had to think about it for a moment, “Nope, definitely not going to be good. I think she might actually kill him. You know how much Tony annoys her… and language.”

“Seriously?” Bruce laughed. “Want to make a bet? Loser has to help calm Natasha down.” He held out his hand toward Steve.

Chuckling, Steve grabbed his hand and accepted.

* * *

 

MEANWHILE IN NATS ROOM

Taking a minute to compose herself, Natasha cleared her anger and frustration as best she could. She knew Clint would be there any moment. “Jarvis, as soon as Clint arrives on my floor I don’t want you listening or recording anything.”

“Yes ma’am. I sense you are in a bit of distress. Should I play your song to help you calm yourself?” He asked, wanting to be of help.

_That song does help…._ “No, I’ll be fine. Thank you though.”

“Not a problem miss Romanoff. Clint has arrived, I shall leave now.”

_He better not piss me off more than he already has._

Hearing his footsteps but not willing to face him yet, Natasha spoke in a cold tone. “Leave me alone Clint, I already gave the answer.”

Clint was aggravated, no longer able to keep his emotions in check. “She’s not just any other kid Nat! Why don’t you want to make sure your soulmate is safe? Just help me understand.”

_Are you kidding me…?_

Natasha scowled at him, not genuinely believing he could ask that. “Of course I want her safe. I do. I want her to have a loving family, and a wonderful life. But we have to let her live her life without us interfering in any way.”

Clint was growing tired of this argument. He still wasn’t understanding. “It’s just finding her a place to stay Tasha, she won’t even be with us. Why can’t we let an inactive agent take care of her? Come on they won’t even be mentioning SHIELD, we can pay them. It’s not like Tony’s ever going to run out of money.”

_This argument is going nowhere._

“I don’t care. Anyone associated with SHIELD or the Avengers is always going to be in danger. She needs to be with a normal family, one we don’t pick. They have to want her, and she has to want them. Let’s say I did agree with you on the inactive agent. You’re right she’d be with someone capable of defending her. Now, imagine if she got attached to that agent only to find out that the only reason they’re ‘fostering’ her is because we were paying them. If she ever found out the person she got handed to her didn’t actually choose her... Don’t you get how that’d make her feel? Because I don’t know about you, but I’d feel shitty. No. I won’t do that to her. The family she gets will choose her of their own free will. We won’t have any part in that. End of discussion.” Natasha declared, she was beyond frustrated.

_I just want to forget her right now. Just for the moment._

He still didn’t understand, or maybe it was because he didn’t want to. “How is that different than the government paying someone to watch her? Or having nuns choosing a foster family for her?”

_Still not going to let it go I see._

Sighing, she did her best to explain. “It’s different. The families that the nuns and government choose, well they’re able to deny her before they would ever meet. It’s true that some families will most likely only say yes to Mary being in their house for the money, but…” *sighs* “I don’t know how else to explain it… It would just be different. Like I said. They have to want her. Maybe there’s going to be a family that would really want her to be a part of their family. What if we took that chance away from her by putting an inactive agent in charge of her? She could have a real family Clint. Yeah, it might take some time and she might have to go through a couple of less deserving families who only want her for money, but one day, she’ll get the family she deserves. Without our help.”

Clint was stunned. She had a point, it would be devastating finding out someone you grew to care about was being paid to watch you instead of doing it because they wanted you. “I guess you’re right. I’m sorry. I still don’t fully understand but I get it somewhat. I just want her to have a good life Nat. we all do.”

She honestly just wanted to be alone but knew he wouldn’t leave. “And I don’t?” Her eyes challenged him to say anything otherwise.

He chose his words carefully before he spoke. “I know you do, but you’re right, we shouldn’t interfere. Have you figured out how you’re going to stop the bond from killing her though?” He asked, still concerned about how that was going to be solved.

Having already thought of something close to a plan she tells Clint what she will do until Mary is an adult. “I’m going to visit her every now and then. I didn’t reject her, but we can’t be seen together. So, until she’s a grown adult and is able to take care of herself when I’m not around, I’ll be visiting her in the shadows. She won’t know I’m there. It should be enough to satisfy the bond for now. She should have a life where she shouldn’t have to worry about looking over her shoulder, this is the best I can do for her. I want to be with her, and of course I’d love for her to live here with us. The thing is though, we’re meant to be soulmates, not mother and daughter, which is one reason I don’t want her staying here. It’d be weird giving my soulmate a bedtime and telling her to eat her vegetables every day. I don’t get why I got a soulmate half my age though.”

Chuckling, Clint suggested “Maybe it’s because she’s goofy. You need that to balance you out.”

Smirking, she says “I have you for that, dork.”

“Yeah, but the difference is, at the end of the day I won’t be the one bonded to you.” Pausing, he then continues they’re previous conversation. “Anyways, it’s good that you’ll be visiting her, even if she doesn’t know it. I know this is hard for you, for both of you… Should we tell the others about the both of you?” He wanted them to know, that way Mary would have some kind of protection should anything happen.

“No. The only reason I told you is because I thought it was only fair since you told me about your parents. You haven’t met your soulmate yet, but once you do, the feeling of protecting them from everyone, and yes, even me, comes first. It’s best that we’re the only ones who know.” _Less dangerous that way._

His mouth set into a thin line. “You can trust them, in fact, it’s probably better if you tell them. If they knew then they’d be able to protect her in case something happens to you or New York or I don’t know, the world. She’d be the first priority for someone on the team to take her away from here.”

“That’s the thing, the more people who know, the more people who can put her in danger. What if someone were to be compromised? Anything’s possible.” She tried reasoning with him, but he wouldn’t hear of it.

On some level he could understand her reasoning, but he still thought she should give the others more credit. “You know they wouldn’t do that to you…”

“Perhaps not on purpose. Like I said though, anything is possible.”

Sighing, and knowing she was done, he asked her to at least think of the possibility. “Just think about it, please.”

Rolling her eyes and mostly saying it to satisfy him, she agrees. “I’ll think about it but that’s all I’m doing.”

“That’s all I ask. Can we go join the others now? Make sure nothing is broken? I’m also pretty hungry too.” He said, grinning at the red head.

_So that’s the reason why you’re done with the conversation. Food. Whatever, so long as we’re done I don’t care.._

Closing her eyes and trying but failing not to smile she says “You’re a bottomless pit, you know that? And you know pepper will yell at them if anything happens.”

“Haha, yeah but we should still be there just in case.”

Sighing, Natasha agrees. “Let’s go.”

With that, they both walk to the elevator to return to their teammates, both not happy but knowing there’s not much they can do when it comes to Mary.

* * *

 

Returning to the others

“Don’t act like you could even get a week without me!” They heard pepper yelling before the elevator even opened the entire way.

“I can so! I know how to do stuff!” Tony yelled back, trying to defend himself.

They both walked towards Steve and Bruce, who both had popcorn and were just watching them bickering.

Bruce was wondering if Pepper would punch Tony, while Steve considered on whether or not he should maybe put a stop to it. Then decided not to because it’s not like they’d actually listen to him when they got this way.

“We weren’t even gone for an entire hour. What happened?” Natasha questioned the two who were watching the argument intently.

Hearing Natasha’s voice startled the four.

She raised an eyebrow. “Do I have something on me? Tony I swear if you did something to my outfit again I’ll make you regret it.”

“Why does everyone always think I’m the cause of the problem?” He questioned.

Steve surprised everyone when he jokingly replied “Hmm, I wonder why. It certainly can’t be because of your crazy parties that make us question your sanity, or the way you get into mischief.”

At his response everyone gave him a disbelieving stare.

Clint was grinning “Were you actually just sarcastic for once?”

“Steve, I think you’ve been spending too much time with Tony.” Bruce teased.

Pepper gave Steve a warning look. “Don’t you dare start acting like Tony. There’s only so much I can and will take.”

Tony lifted his chin and grinned. “I don’t know what you guys are talking about. I’m pretty fan-fucking-tastic!”

Jarvis even put in his two cents. “Oh please don’t be like Sir, he is so rude at times.”

At Jarvis’s response everybody couldn’t help but laugh.

Smiling, Steve rolled his eyes and reassured everyone he would not in fact be like Tony. “Alright I get it. Don’t worry, I’m always going to be me.”

Natasha was smiling, glad that there was joy in the tower.

Once everyone calmed down, Bruce turned to Natasha and decided to tell her what she missed while she and Clint were gone.

“Natasha, we know you don’t want us to get involved, and we won’t. But, those two.” He pointed to Pepper and Tony. “Decided that they’re going to be sending a donation to the orphanage and keeping track of Mary.”

Tony mumbled “Way to go tattletale.”

“Hey, she deserves to know. The kid did stick with her the entire night.” He insisted.

All was quiet, they were waiting for what Natasha was going to say

Pinching the bridge of her nose, she took in a breath and spoke. “Well, the orphanage could use the money. But, even if Mary gets adopted, you better still be making donations. That wouldn’t be fair to the other kids if you stopped just because Mary might not be an orphan.” She sent a pointed look to both Tony and Pepper who were nodding their heads, all too ready to agree.

_Man they all must really like Mary. Didn’t take long that’s for sure._

She continued “As for keeping track of her… I guess it’s fine. Only to observe. Remember, no involvement. No matter what.”

Upset that they couldn’t do anything if something were to happen to Mary but happy that they could at least be aware of her situation, they all relented.

Steve leaned into Bruce and asked “So, did we both lose the bet?”

Bruce whispered, “I thought for sure she was going to be mad.”

“What now?” Steve questioned.

“Hey, what are you two whispering about over there?” The red head asked, narrowing her eyes at them.

Both were startled at Natasha’s voice. Clearing his throat Bruce came up with a lie (which Natasha knew he was lying of course) “Uhm, we were just wondering what we were going to have for dinner.”

_Liar._

She decided to let him get away with it.

As they were all now discussing what would be best to eat, Natasha couldn’t help but be reminded of the emptiness she felt.

_One day… Just have to hold on until then._


	7. Growing Up (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly meant for these to be small moments of her life and just moving on later into her future, but then my hands just wouldn't stop typing every time my mind thought of something. It was literally supposed to be ages 4-12 for this chapter, but then I just couldn't stop adding details...

**4 Months Later**

**Mary (Still 4)**

(at the orphanage)

Life for Mary had gotten a bit better since her return from the tower. Things have become somewhat different. She now eats warm nutritional food; Sister Ruth has been relieved of her duties at the orphanage and no longer feeds the children disgusting unhealthy food. She now works full time at the church and has been replaced by Sister Eleanor, a gentle nun who makes sure no one misses any meals and that they eat healthy but lets them have treats every now and then. Not only was the food problem solved, but so has the clothing situation that Sister Evangeline constantly tried to fix. Now, all the children, including her, have received clothes that properly fit them. _I can’t believe someone’s been sending the orphanage money_. Sister Evangeline has explained to the children that an anonymous, generous donation is being sent to the orphanage every month. The only thing left each time with the money is a note that says, “Be sure to take ALL of them somewhere special every month once expenses are paid off. There is enough extra money so that ALL of them can go. NO ONE is to be left out. That is the only request we have.” So, the nuns have been taking them out every month somewhere special.

First, they all went to the zoo. Mary was extremely happy to be able to see wildlife animals in real life and not just pictures in books. She grew sad though when she thought they looked unhappy to be kept in cages. She cried and wanted them to be set free and sent home. _No one should be kept from their home._ She only stopped crying when the bond let her know that Natasha was nearby. _Nat’s near…_ Mary felt calm now that her soulmate was nearby. Her presence comforted Mary even though she could not physically see her.

The second special thing they were able to do was go for helicopter rides. The donation given to them this month was a little higher and all the children were even given small cameras. The note saying “Take them to ride helicopters. Or not… just do something exciting this time. Make sure no one cries.” This ‘anonymous’ person didn’t understand that literally anytime the children go somewhere new they get excited. None the less, Sister Evangeline took the kids out to ride helicopters. Mary felt as though she was close to space. _It’s just a bit out of reach. But I’m almost there._ She took many pictures that day, of all the helicopters, and the sky, and of the other kids, nuns, and pilots. _I want to be a pilot and fly…_

The third place they went to visit was a fire station. Mary learned how hard it was to be a firefighter. She thought the firefighters were incredibly fast with the way they gather their equipment and put on their clothing. _They’re heroes! I want to be a hero too._ It was exceedingly hilarious to Mary when Sister Evangeline and Sister Eleanor had volunteered to be timed to put on the firefighter’s clothes. Needless to say, neither one was fast enough for the job. _It’s okay, your already heroes to me._ With her new camera (which she took extra care of) she took photos of the firetrucks, the firefighters, and the fire station. She also took photos of both women racing each other. When given the information on what to do should something ever be on fire or should ONE OF THEM ever be on fire, well, Mary absorbed all the information. _Tuck and roll. Got it._ They even learned how there is different classes of fires and different types of extinguishers and which extinguisher goes with the different classes of fires. And how sometimes it’s best to try and keep the fire contained, not let it spread anywhere else, and let it die down. _I want to be a firefighter…_

The fourth (and Mary’s favorite by far) place the children were taken to, was a planetarium. Mary found that she had a love for the stars and galaxy and wanted to learn more of them. She expressed deeply to the tour guide and Sister Evangeline that space was now her favorite thing in the world. She wanted to know everything there is about space. What no one knew was that someone had tapped into the security feed at the planetarium and heard the little girl express her new-found love of space. Once they returned to the orphanage, Sister Evangeline called Mary to her office and had told her that someone left her a gift. It was a box wrapped with the decoration of spaceships and stars. Mary questioned who would leave her a gift; Sister Evangeline had a feeling who the gift was from but did not express her thoughts and told her that someone must believe she’s an incredibly special girl. When Mary opened the box, her eyes lit up in pure joy. Inside were books about stars, black holes, planets, and wormholes. Mary was excited and couldn’t wait to read them, except that she still wasn’t able to read. But Sister Evangeline promised her that she would teach her how to read the books and that way, they could both learn more about space together. Mary was happy to hear that; Sister Evangeline always tries and learns new things to connect with Mary in whatever way possible. One of the many reasons Mary loves her. She felt so lucky to receive an amazing gift and to have someone who wants to spend time with her. _God’s listening… I asked for something again and he delivered it! I’m so lucky… Maybe if I work really hard, I can be an astronaut…_

It’s been a few weeks since the planetarium. Mary is sitting on the front doorsteps, looking at her newly developed photos that Sister Eleanor had kindly gotten for her, while waiting for Sister Evangeline to come back from her errands with the church. Every so often she lifts her gaze and looks at the gates that Natasha had walked through 4 months ago. _I wonder what she’s doing. She’s nearby, I know that at least. Well, at least she’s visiting, it feels like I haven’t felt her in forever._

Hearing a car pull up, Mary puts her photos back in the envelope, stands and waits for Sister Evangeline to walk through the gate. Once she’s past the gate, Mary runs up to Sister Evangeline and gives her a tight hug. Her ribs have been completely healed as of 2 months ago, but Sister Evangeline is extremely overprotective of Mary and makes her take it easy another 2 months. Just to be safe. Mary does her best to listen to her. She cherishes Sister Evangeline the most (besides Nat) and always wants to please her.

“You’re back! How was your trip? What did you do? Did you learn anything new? Can we work now?!” Sister Evangeline has been helping Mary read her space books as promised. Not only that, but she’s been teaching her how to write as well. Sister Eleanor has even started helping her learn Math. Mary told her that since she’ll be starting Kindergarten soon, she wants to try and get ahead of the others. Not only that but, she also wants to impress Natasha with her intelligence when they have their reunion. _I can’t wait to show Nat how much smarter I’ve gotten when we meet again!_

Sending her a big smile she said, “Calm down child. Let me set my things in my office and get you your work book and one of those space books of yours. For now, wait out here. I won’t be long darling.”

Sighing, Mary sits on the steps and waits once again. _This is so awesome._ She thought, grinning that she was learning something important and not feeling helpless as much. She was having an easier time identifying the words when it came to reading things, writing them were another thing entirely though. Her handwriting still needed work, a lot of work. Same with Math, but she was 4 and was still learning, so she didn’t dwell too much on it. _No one’s going to call me dumb ever again._

Though life at the orphanage has gotten a bit easier now that the money issue has been better, she still gets picked on. One of her only friends, Noah, is currently at another foster home, so she has no one to talk to unless he returns. She hopes he doesn’t, she really hopes this family chooses to keep him. _They seemed really nice._ She smiled happily.

Penny and her little gang, that she seems to have formed with the other 7 to 10-year-old’s in the orphanage, continue to mock and ridicule her. They did leave her alone while her ribs were healing, but then started picking on her as soon as she was declared healed. Mary has gotten sassier though and she’s even started standing up for herself. After meeting Nat and her friends, she feels stronger. She’s very lonely most of the time and questions her existence almost nonstop, but then is always reminded that she has found her soulmate and that even though she has to wait, they’ll be together someday. _It’s enough for now._

“Alright darling, I’ve got your stuff and brought a mini-table, so now you have something hard to write on for your workbook. Now, why don’t we go sit under the tree and get started.” Sister Evangeline suggested kindly; knowing it’s another of Mary’s favorite spots.

“Yeah! Let’s do it!” Mary yelled in excitement.

* * *

 

For the avengers, not much as changed except for the fact that they keep an eye on Mary. They all sat down together and did a background check on the orphanage. Once learning that it indeed was probably the best orphanage in all of New York, not to mention the closest, Tony donated a generous amount to the orphanage. Every month Pepper sends a note with the money, it always says the same thing. “Be sure to take ALL of them somewhere special every month once expenses are paid off. There is enough extra money so that ALL of them can go. NO ONE is to be left out. That is the only request we have.” They wanted to make sure no one would miss out on any fun.

Not only have they done a background check on the orphanage, but on Mary as well. They were not impressed with what they’ve learned. Mary’s been in some great homes, but some awful ones as well. They are confused as to why she is constantly being moved from foster home to foster home, being sent to so many different states in her short life. After doing more digging, they found a redacted file from SHIELD that linked to Mary. They were not able to read the contents of it, it was level 9 and all of them were only level 8. The only way they were going to be able to see what was on that document was to find the original hard copy. Needless to say, they all were going to keep an even more of a closer watch on Mary until they knew how to proceed with their new-found information. Whenever Mary gets sent to a Foster Home, they will be alerted by Jarvis as to where and will observe.

What Mary doesn’t know is that Natasha has visited Sister Evangeline multiple times. She is incredibly careful when she visits though, always visiting her at the church when she does her errands. She needed to make sure that Mary was in fact eating healthy food and that she got clothes that fit her properly and supplies and anything else she needed. She needed to make sure Mary was being cared for like she was promised. Once Sister Evangeline has confirmed that she has been keeping a tighter watch on Mary and that things have indeed changed, Natasha felt lighter. She knew the nun was not lying to her. If she even tried, then Natasha would not hold back when it came to receiving the truth. Since all was well however, she usually continued talking to the nun about Mary and if she missed anything while she was gone. Every time their conversation ends, Natasha makes sure to remind the nun not to tell Mary she’s been asking about her. Sister Evangeline doesn’t even question why; she has a feeling as to why but decided to not ask to confirm it. So, she just nods her head each time and promises not to say anything so long as no harm comes to Mary.

**Natasha (Still 24)**

She is sitting on top of the orphanage with Clint watching the young child sitting on the front doorsteps waiting for Sister Evangeline. They were just out of eyesight but were close enough for them to see her, along with the entire front yard and be within hearing distance. Even though Natasha can’t come see her every month, Clint checks up on Mary when she is away on a mission. Telling her the things Mary does when she’s outside. He even tells her how many times she’s fallen and how many times she’s jumped and so on. She acts as though she could care less about those simple things, but he knew she was grateful that he told her. Natasha hates when she misses Mary doing things, no matter how small or meaningless they may be.

She’s learned that Mary is learning how to read and write. Natasha is immensely proud of Mary and wanted to be involved in some way. So, she bought her a children’s activity work book to work on. She’s seen how hard Mary’s been working on writing when it came to the work book. Sister Evangeline’s been making a point as to do the reading and writing outside whenever it is sunny. _Does Sister Evangeline know I’m watching…?_ Though Natasha isn’t there every day, the cameras around the orphanage let her know that they do Mary’s tutoring outside most days. She’s been visiting for the past few days nonstop though, and every time she comes closer to the orphanage, she feels excitement when she can feel Mary nearby.

“Here comes the nun” Clint said to her, not wanting her to miss Mary’s excitement that came just about all the time when it comes to working on her lessons.

She looked down to see the nun tell Mary she’d need to wait a moment and smiled softly as she sat on the steps again waiting for the woman. “She’s going to be smarter than Tony, I can tell.” She stated to Clint proudly.

Laughing, Clint agreed. “Don’t let Tin-Man hear you say that though. He’ll go and invent something and try to prove you wrong somehow.”

“Tony’s a Man-Child” She declared jokingly.

Looking down, both saw the nun was back and carrying Mary’s things, then led her to their normal spot under the tree. Both were sitting and enjoying hearing Mary reading about space.

“She’ll be turning 5 soon… I should get her something.” She told Clint. He nodded, agreeing, and suggested something that would benefit both Mary and Natasha.

She’s already gotten Mary school supplies and left them with Sister Evangeline for when she starts Kindergarten. She wants Mary to be prepared so she went shopping with Pepper and chose a Beauty and the Beast backpack and supplies. Making sure to tell Sister Evangeline that, that is what Mary will be using for school and nothing else unless she wants to change it.

Turning to look at Clint she said, “We should get going, we’ve stayed long enough.”

“I already can’t wait to visit again.” He grinned at her.

As they were both leaving, they were able to hear Mary laughing hysterically at the book before leaving hearing range.

_I wonder what she’s laughing about…_

_**5 (Kindergarten)** _

**Mary (5)**

It’s officially Mary’s first day of Kindergarten and to say she is prepared is an understatement. She woke up at around 5am, even though school does not start until 7:30 and the school bus does not show until 6:45. She wanted to make sure she got a bath and wore the right outfit. "Style is a way to say who you are without having to speak." She quoted Rachel Zoe. _Thank you, Rachel Zoe. You have awesome fashion designs._ She had no clue who Rachel Zoe even was, until one of the older kids pitied her enough to show Mary a magazine of Rachel and her designs. _Maybe I should be a fashion designer when I grow up._

Sister Eleanor was kind enough to help Mary dress for her first day. She asked Sister Evangeline for some money so that she could take Mary to get an outfit that she thought would look adorable on Mary. Sister Evangeline was going to say no because the kids already received new clothes but changed her mind when Mary was brought up. She told Sister Eleanor that she was allowed one new outfit and a pair of shoes but that was all. Agreeing, Sister Eleanor took Mary to the store; the two had a discussion on what Mary’s outfit should be. After picking out 5 dresses, Mary was allowed to pick the one she really wanted. Once decided, the outfit was bought and the two went back to the orphanage, excited to show Sister Evangeline what Mary would be wearing.

As Sister Eleanor helped Mary zip up her zipper, Mary was making sure her hair was perfect. It was braided into a French braid that, thankfully Sister Eleanor knew how to do since she had younger sisters who used to ask her to do it for them. Once Mary was dressed, she took a moment to look at what she was wearing and felt excited. It was a black sleeveless dress, midnight blue roses spread all around it, with a matching wait belt, and a zipper on the back. She wore midnight blue tights and black colored boots. They had it tailored just for her. She also had on her brand-new beauty and the beast themed watch that was gifted to her for her 5th birthday. As she looked at it, she was reminded of her conversation with Sister Evangeline, who said someone left it just for Mary and gave Mary the note that told her to never take it off. _Probably Nat._ _Before I met her, I never got presents._ She thought, smiling that the red head had thought of her. She thought she would feel nervous but really, she was just excited. _She’s close by._ Mary could feel Natasha since the moment she woke up and that just made everything easier.

Once completely ready, Sister Evangeline made her sit in front of her special tree and took a “Mary’s 1st day of Kindergarten” picture. Then took several more pictures of Mary posing. (There was another note with Mary’s watch that was specifically for Sister Eleanor that said to “Take a picture of her 1st day of school. Have it printed out.”) Sister Eleanor is going to get two copies of all the pictures. One for herself of course, and the other for Natasha. At this point she pretty much knows what Mary is to Natasha.

Riding a school bus with kids other than the ones that live with her in the orphanage, was a new experience for Mary. She already had an assigned seat for her before she even got on the bus. She sat alone since there weren’t a lot of other kindergarteners riding the bus. The kindergarteners sat in the front while the older kids got to choose where they sat. Once she got off the school bus, she stood in front of the school, taking it all in. _You know how to read… mostly, and your writing is getting better, and you know some Math… I’m already the best in the class!_ Mary encouraged herself. When she stepped into her class, she started to feel nervous until she yet again felt Natasha through their bond. _She’s with me._ She took a second to collect herself then sat down at the front right of the class next to the doors and also next to a raven-haired child.

Mary didn’t feel like talking to anyone yet, it seemed like everyone in her class already knew each other. Except, the girl next to her didn’t seem to be conversing with anyone else either. She didn’t seem like she wanted to deal with anyone, and Mary was worried she sat somewhere next to someone who definitely might not ever like her. Except, the brunette turned and gave her a smile. She opened her mouth to speak until the teacher came in and started class.

Once introductions were said throughout the class, Mary learned that the girl she’d be sitting next to for the entire school year was named “Scarlett.” Just like Mary, Scarlett didn’t talk to anyone throughout the entire morning.

Recess came by before anybody knew it and Mary was sitting on the swings alone, trying to muster up the courage to talk to Scarlett. _What if she doesn’t like me?_ She sighed. _I guess I won’t know until I try._

Mary walked up to Scarlett; she was playing in the sand alone and looked up when she noticed Mary’s shadow looming over her.

“Hi, I’m Mary… You’re alone and… do you want to play together? Unless you don’t want to? I just thought you might not want to be alone? Unless you do then that’s fine too.” Mary blushed, she couldn’t stop herself from ranting, she was nervous talking to someone who could obviously choose not to be her friend. She was still reluctant to try talking to the other kids. Whenever she tried talking to someone who already had friends, well, they were always rude to her or worse, pretended she didn’t exist.

Scarlett stared at her, thinking of the right words to use because she was just as nervous as Mary was. “I know who you are silly. You can play with me… unless you’re mean. In that case you can play by yourself.” She said, making it clear that she will not put up with anyone’s rudeness.

“I’m a nice person. I try not to be mean to anyone unless they’re mean to me.” Mary stated. She won’t take anyone’s crap, not anymore.

Scarlett smiled at her, “Okay, want to help me dig to China? My mom said if I dug deep enough, I could visit there!”

“Sure!”

Mary was genuinely happy she made a friend. _This is the 2 nd best day ever! Meeting Nat will always be the 1st best day ever though!_

Mary sat next to Scarlett and began to help her dig. She took in the child’s features as she dug. Scarlett’s hair reached her shoulders, she has a button nose, and big eyes with the color of deep blue; in the middle of each eye, there is a small speck of green. She also has a small beauty mark above the right side of her lip. _She’s very pretty._

Recess was over and though they were both upset that their playtime ended far too quickly then either of them liked, they promised to always play with each other during recess.

The day ended and the two girls exchanged numbers, Mary gave her Sister Evangeline’s phone number (after her awful experience, she was told to memorize it by heart), and Scarlett gave Mary her family’s home phone number.

Before everyone went home, the teacher asked the class for a “1st day” photo so she could send the photo to everyone’s parents and put it on the school website. Once the photo was taken everyone finally went home.

The greatest thing about her 1st day was that she felt Natasha the entire time.

_Thanks Nat._

**Natasha (25)**

_Why did I let them come with me?_ She questioned herself, annoyed that Tony, Pepper and Steve had decided to join her to watch Mary on her first day of school.

“I’m just wondering why the hell we have to be here so damn early?! It’s 3 in the damn morning! I should be in bed!” Tony screamed, angry that he was sitting in a car at 3am when the kid’s school bus wouldn’t be arriving until a few hours.

“You didn’t have to come you know. You could have just stayed home instead of coming and whining in my ear.” Pepper was beyond annoyed of Tony’s complaining. “Besides it’s not like you were even asleep! I know you were awake upgrading your suit!”

“I’m just saying! Her school bus doesn’t even get here until later. So why are we here so early?”

“BECAUSE NATASHA WANTS TO BE HERE! CLEARLY, SHE’S ATTACHED TO THE KID, LIKE THE REST OF US ARE, AND WANTS TO SUPPORT HER, SO WE’RE GOING TO BE HERE AND SUPPORT HER TOO!” Pepper yelled, completely done with Tony.

“YOU DON’T NEED TO YELL AT ME! I WAS JUST WONDERING!” Tony screamed back.

Steve sighed, he had to continuously remind himself that for whatever reason, fate declared these two soulmates. But, no matter how much they argued with each other, they truly did love each other. Tony is romantic, and often showers Pepper with love, just not when everyone is around. Not because he’s ashamed of her, it’s just that he too has insecurities, though he’d never admit it.

Steve turned from his seat in the passenger side and gave them a pointed look, “Guys, let’s calm down. I think Nat would appreciate some peace and quiet for now.”

At the revelation that they could be angering Natasha the two soulmates finally quieted down. Until Tony opened his mouth, again.

“Hey seriously Widow, why did you want to come here so early?”

She was quiet for a long time, when it seemed as though she wouldn’t be answering his question, he turned away to look out the window that faced the orphanage.

_Why am I here so early? …No. I know why._

She spoke lowly, “I don’t want to miss any of it.”

It was excruciatingly silent; they all heard her say it. It couldn’t be taken back now. None of them knew the extent of how attached Natasha was, they knew she must’ve cared a lot considering how often she checks up on Mary, but, that sentence made them realize she clearly cared a lot more than they had thought.

“If you don’t want to be here then walk home now. I’m going to be here awhile.” She stated.

No one moved. So, she went back to her thoughts. Tony and Pepper cuddled together, trying to get some sleep until it was time for Mary to get on the bus. Steve also making himself comfortable and wanting to get some sleep as well, closed his eyes and thought about Peggy Carter.

They had all done a background check on the school and were pleased that it had high marks and great reviews. So far, nothing dangerous had happened at the school that would result in it being on lockdown. When Mary’s birthday came closer, Natasha asked them what they all thought of what she should give Mary, adding in Clint’s input that it should benefit both her and Natasha, until it was finally decided. A watch. Tony and Bruce built the watch, while Pepper and Natasha decided on what theme it should be. Steve gave Tony and Bruce ideas on what to install on the watch as well. When it was finished, it was equipped with a tracker, a camera and mic, and it can transmit her vitals to let them know if she was in danger. It was also waterproof. Tony was mostly excited about the waterproof thing. Mary obviously did not know about it, and they knew that if she were in danger, they’d have to be careful with how they’d get her out of it. After all, they really are only supposed to be observing and not getting involved.

* * *

 

The other three occupants in the car were woken by Natasha starting the car.

“What’s going on?” Tony asked, confused as to where he was.

“The bus is here.” Natasha pointed Mary out. She didn’t wake them up when Mary came out to take photos. She wanted to enjoy that moment alone.

“She’s adorable! Ooohh look at that dress! And her hair! She’s definitely got fashion sense.” Pepper exclaimed proudly, as if she had something to do with that.

Tony rolled his eyes, though on the inside he too was cooing. “Yeah Yeah, she’s cute. Now come on, follow the bus Widow!”

Nodding, Natasha followed behind the bus all the way to the school and made sure that Mary walked through the front doors.

“If anyone wants to go anywhere then walk. I’m staying here.”

Steve raised both his eyebrows, “All day?”

“I have to be here.”

Tony sighed, and brought out his phone, ordered them breakfast, and even had it delivered to them… in the car.”

“How did you manage this Tony?” Steve couldn’t help but asked, surprised that somehow having food delivered to a car was possible.

Tony grinned, “I’m rich.”

They stayed in the car the entire day, watching the school. The only times the other three left were to use the bathroom at a nearby store. Natasha did not move out of her seat the entire time Mary was at school.

Pepper was shocked at her bladder. Natasha said it was because of how times she went undercover or was tortured, and she just learned to hold it. (Don’t do that guys.)

Tony looked at Mary’s schedule (which he got from hacking of course) and told them that she would be having recess soon. Natasha drove around until she got a good view of the playground and saw Mary sitting on the swings alone. She frowned. _She shouldn’t be alone._

Her eyes lit up when she saw Mary walk towards a girl and talk to her. _There we go._

When recess was over, she drove back to the front of the school and waited for the day to end.

“Are you going to be doing this every morning?” Steve wondered out loud.

“No. I just have to be here for this morning.”

Nodding his head, he didn’t question her again.

Pepper looked at Tony and reminded him to tell Jarvis if Mary’s grades start slipping. Someone’s got to look out for her in some way. Sister Evangeline can’t always be checking Mary’s grades since there’s so many children in the orphanage who cause problems like fighting, so they’ll take that off her plate. If her grades start slipping Jarvis would tell them, and then one of them would inform Sister Evangeline.

When the school day finally finished, they made sure Mary got on the bus and followed the bus all the way back to the orphanage. Once she got off, they saw her run towards Sister Evangeline’s awaiting arms. They smiled once the young girl was given a loving hug and kiss. Once she went inside the orphanage, they drove off to the tower.

“….. Soooo, is no one going to comment on how we literally stalked a kid the entire day?” Tony questioned everyone in the car.

“I told you. I had to be there.” Natasha once again stated.

_The bond… It wouldn’t let me do anything else… I had to be there._


	8. New Foster Home (The Jefferson's)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter will consists mostly of Mary is going through in her new foster home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! Honestly, it's not even that I was busy. Writer's block has just been a butt lol.
> 
> So, I literally don't know how to do much of a warning on stuff like this, but I'll try.
> 
> This chapter includes abuse, physical and verbal. So, like be careful as you read in case it may cause you to be upset. Also mentions of praying and God (not trying to change your religion in anyway.)

 A Few Months into the school year

**Mary (still 5)**

**5:00PM, Saturday**

"Now remember darling, I'm just a call away. You have my number memorized so all you would need to worry about is getting a phone. You shouldn't need to call me though. I mean, you can if you miss me and all that, but you shouldn't need to call me for anything else. They seem extremely nice and are overjoyed that you will be with their family. I'm sure you'll have a wonderful time." Sister Evangeline was trying to reassure Mary that everything would be fine as they stood in front of what will be Mary's latest foster home.

 _You said that last time._  Mary didn't dare voice her thoughts. She didn't want to upset SE, she knows Sister Evangeline tries her best out of everyone to ensure Mary lives a great life. Unfortunately, it's a gamble with most foster families. She held onto her backpack, while Sister Evangeline held onto a duffle bag with her other clothes she was given at her stay from the orphanage.  _I'm surprised I get to keep the nice clothes._

"I'll remember." If Mary didn't know any better, she'd think Sister Evangeline was nervous.  _She's an adult though, so she can't get nervous… wait, CAN adults get nervous? I'll ask later._

Mary was simply happy that it was Sister Evangeline dropping her off at the home instead of her regular social worker who only sees her as another case file. He always gives her grief on why she is always being moved from home to home and she is sick of his complaining.  _He's got to be the most annoying person ever… That's a mean thought, but it's true! Whatever, at least Sister Evangeline is with me today._  She would have felt better if she could feel Natasha, but she hasn't felt her nearby for a while.

"Oh! I also don't want you to worry about wearing your 'armor'! I explained to the couple that you only wear it at night, and they said they were completely alright with it. Isn't that great?!" She happily said.

Sister Evangeline had taken to calling Mary's diapers 'armor' so that Mary wouldn't feel as embarrassed whenever they spoke about it. Also, so that no one can understand what they're talking about when they're at the store buying them. If anyone were to see them getting diapers, they'd think it was for a baby and not the little 5-year-old.

"That's good…" Mary didn't know what else to say to that, it's not very often families are just 'alright' when it comes to a 5-year-old kid still using diapers.

Releasing a breath of air, Sister Evangeline knocked on the front door of the Jefferson's. She held tightly onto Mary's little hand as they waited.

"Oh! Also, don't worry darling, you'll still be going to your school. You're still in the same district so there should be no reason as to why you can't go. I've already discussed this with the Jefferson's as well." She explained to Mary, knowing that she was mostly worried about having to make a new friend all over again. Friends were never her area of expertise.

Mary didn't say anything, only giving Sister Evangeline a grateful smile.  _Thank goodness, I really didn't want to leave Scarlett all alone._

Mary and Scarlett became fast friends. They're both so alike and yet so different as well. Scarlett is absolutely terrible with electronics, you could explain and show her what to do multiple times, but she still wouldn't be able to grasp the concept of it. Meanwhile Mary, only needs it to be explained, and maybe shown once to understand what needs to be done.

Their school has started teaching kindergartners how to type and use a computer once they've learned all the letters of the alphabet and after they've learned how to count. Since the world is extremely advanced with technology, the government believes it's best to get children started early with basic computer knowledge.

So, Scarlett does not do well with technology, but she loves and is amazing when it comes to doing physical things, like gym. Her family has even signed her up for Mixed Martial Arts classes and she often tries to teach Mary when they have free time in gym or during recess (in secret of course). Mary does not enjoy things like that and is not really great when it comes to doing physical things. She could get better at it if she applied herself but finds it more fun and relaxing in the digital world. Now, when it comes to finding something to play during recess, they have to compromise most of the time since Mary complains a lot when it comes to learning how to fight.

 _I love my school too. It's the best one in the whole wide world._  She was extremely glad that she had started working on reading, writing, and math before starting school. It really gave her a bit of a head start. She was even more proud that she found she was great at using computers.  _I guess I should try to get better when it comes to doing gym stuff, don't want Nat to think I'm lazy or anything._

"Ahh! I'm so glad you both made it safely! Please come in. My boys are in the backyard playing right now and my wife is in the kitchen making some dinner." David Jefferson is a 37-year-old accountant who is a father to twins Ben and Liam (13-year old's), and a husband to 35-year-old Charlotte Jefferson who is a stay at home mom. He opened the door and let both Mary and Sister Evangeline inside the house and led them toward the living room. The living room was nothing special, just an ordinary living room. One big couch and one recliner facing the TV with a coffee table in the middle of the room. There were a lot of shoes and socks on the ground. "Sorry the place is so messy; my wife hasn't had the time to clean just yet."

Sister Evangeline reassures him it's alright; she just wants to get down to business and leave. It's always hard for her to say goodbye to Mary. "It's quite alright. In fact, it's a bit reassuring, you'd be surprised that some people try to make everything look perfect to hide something so that a child is able to stay with them and then end up abusing them… I suppose my wording may be a tad bit confusing so I'm sorry if it doesn't make sense."

"No no no, I understand. I promise you though, we are nothing like that." Sister Evangeline stared at David, trying to determine if he was lying or not. Sadly, she is not Natasha so she can only go by his word.

"Very well… Could you please give us a tour of the place?"

"Ah yes please come this way!" Mary and Sister Evangeline followed David into the kitchen that had a gas stove, marble top counters, and a dining table. "Mary, this is my wife, Charlotte. I'm sure you two will get along quite well, she's always talking about wanting more 'girl power,' whatever that means."

Charlotte walked right up to Mary, with a smile so big it looked forceful and almost as though it hurt. "It's so nice to meet you! I just know we're going to have a great time! If you have any questions, I'm usually in the living room or backyard with my boys."

"… okay…" Mary said, unsure of how she felt at the woman's smile.

David gestured for them to continue, "Let's keep going." Next, they went upstairs to the bedrooms, "So this is mine and my wife's room, these two doors next to each other are the twin's room, they got the adjoining rooms. Your room is over here across theirs, next to the bathroom, so you don't have to go far in case you work up the courage to use the restroom." He said almost too politely.

Mary took a peak inside her room, it was a usual white room, twin sized mattress, one dresser and night stand, one nightlight plugged in, no decorations whatsoever.  _It's kinda small… It's not like I'll be here long anyways though. Could be worse._  "Thank you for letting me into your home." She said kindly.  _Even if they end up being bad people, they're at least letting me sleep in their house._

Mary felt that she had to be thankful for everything she received. Sister Catherine always told her that someone else is having it worse. Mary still doesn't understand that even though yes, you should be grateful for when someone gives you something or lets you stay in their home, it doesn't mean that it gives them a reason to treat you badly. As if they're entitled to the treatment they're giving you.

"No need to thank me. My wife and I are happy to be able to offer you something." He said, still smiling. "We have an attic that we mainly use for storage. I'd offer to show you, but it's really packed up there. We also have lots of athletic stuff in the backyard for you to play with if you're interested! My boys are probably still out back, let's go meet them." He was already walking away before he even finished his sentence.

As they were walking downstairs Mary grew anxious; she and biological kids never get along. She remembered when her ex foster sister had pushed her down the stairs, and another time when her ex foster brother peaked in on her when she was taking a bath. She blacked out once she realized he was watching her. When she woke up she was in the hospital. Apparently she got out of the bath and threw shampoo bottles at him, trying to get him out of the room but ended up breaking the mirror. Which resulted in her ex foster mom getting angry at her and tackling the small child to the ground. Even though her arm's not broken anymore; which she received from her ex foster mom, she can still feel the phantom pains from her old injury.

Mary didn't realize she was getting angry thinking about those families. Not only was she getting angry, she was also growing scared. She was starting to breathe heavily and was worried she would fall asleep and wake up somewhere else again. The only reason she ended up in that alley was because Sister Evangeline wasn't there to calm her down, she always calms Mary down before her emotions completely take over.

"Could you excuse Mary and I for a moment? We need to talk about something for a minute." She heard Sister Evangeline ask David.  _I can't breathe._

"Yes of course, I'll just meet you outside." David said, not aware of Mary's growing panic attack.

Wordlessly, Sister Evangeline gathered Mary in her arms and led her back upstairs into Mary's new room. She sat on the bed before picking up Mary again and putting her on her lap, then placed Mary's head on her chest and proceeded to rock her slowly.

She didn't speak. She knows the only thing Mary needs to hear right now is her heartbeat. Once Mary finally calmed down they went to the backyard. They both decided it was best not to talk about what happened for the moment. They'd talk about it for another time when Mary was in a better mental state.

As they were walking to David they could see him throw one of his boys up in the air. "There you two are! Come meet my boys! This is Ben, he's extremely talented in music. This is Liam, He's amazing in sports! Boys, this is Mary, I expect you both to treat her nicely." When he received two nods of confirmation he asked if there was anything Sister Evangeline might want to question him about.

"No, I don't. Thank you for asking though. You have a lovely home. I'm sure Mary will have a wonderful time staying here."

_Sure…_

"I believe I've seen all I needed to see. Please excuse us so Mary and I can say our goodbyes." She grabbed Mary's hand and led them towards the front door. She just wanted to get their goodbyes over as quickly as possible.

They both stood in silence, neither one wanting to let the other leave.

 _Does she want me away from her that badly? Is that why she looks like she doesn't want to be here? I don't want her to go..._  Mary was starting to feel worried that perhaps Sister Evangeline had finally gotten sick of her. She started leaning away from her and moved her gaze to the ground, afraid that the one person who had always shown her love and kindness no longer wanted anything to do with her.

Sister Evangeline noticed Mary's posture, "Is something the matter darling? All you have to do is call me once and say you want to leave, and I'll come right away. Just like last time."

She crossed her arms and only slightly hesitated when she asked, "… Do you not like me anymore?" Mary chose to be direct.  _If she doesn't like me then fine. I don't care…_

Sister Evangeline was quite confused as to what led her to that conclusion. "I think I'd have to be a fool not to like you. Whatever gave you the idea that I don't?"

Mary was extremely relieved hearing those words.  _I guess it is kinda silly thinking she would just stop liking me right away…_ "It's just that it looks like you really want to leave…"

"Oh! I'm sorry that I made it seem that way darling. The truth is, it's simply hard leaving you over and over again… It just makes me sad every time we say goodbye… I'm sorry I made it seem like I don't like you anymore. But I never want you to worry about that. I will always want to be around you." She smiled her usual beautiful smile that is filled with love and kindness whenever she sees Mary, who loves it so much. It never stops making Mary feel special, knowing that the smile Sister Evangeline gives Mary is different than the ones she gives to the other children.

_It's different when she smiles at me. She never smiles at anyone like that except me._

"Hmm, that WAS pretty silly for me to think." Mary's grin finally made an appearance; Sister Evangeline was worried she wouldn't be able to see it before she left.

"I'm afraid I really do have to go though Mary, I might never leave if I don't do it now… remember though, I'm just a call away. I'll also be doing visits of course! I have to make sure you don't get into too much mischief while you're away from me." She smirked when she saw Mary playfully avert her eyes away from her.

Sighing, Mary accepted that for now they'd be apart. "Okay… one phone call, right?"

"Just one. All you need to say is "I need you to come get me." That's it. I'll come and no questions will be asked, and no explanations. Understand?"

"… What if it's a dumb reason? Like what if I just don't want to stay here even if they don't hurt me…?"

Thinking about how to respond Sister Evangeline knelt down to Mary's level, making sure they were eye to eye. "Like I said, no questions and no explanations. All I want though, is for you to give this a chance. Just a chance. It might be good, or it might be bad… I'm sorry I can't be 100% sure to tell you that this will be your forever family or if it's even a safe place for you to stay… The church and CPS both are the ones who decide where you go, not me." She leaned in and whispered in Mary's ear, "Sometimes they're not always right." She leaned away from Mary and looked sorrowfully in Mary's eyes. "I'm sorry I can't do better."

_It's not her fault. She always does her best for me._

"It's okay. You don't know everything remember? You told me that no one is supposed to know everything cuz that's too much power than humans are 'sposed (supposed) to have. Remember what you said in church? Everything happens for a reason! So, it'll be okay if this doesn't work out, cuz I get to go back to you! I'll give it a chance." Mary stated, now determined to try to make this place work out for her.  _Sister Evangeline always tries her best, so I have to too_.

Sister Evangeline looked at Mary in awe. Surprised but at the same time not really surprised that Mary spoke wise even at the young tender age she is. Chuckling, she got up and gave Mary a hug goodbye. "You're a very strong girl Mary."

Mary leaned into the hug and took a quick whiff of the nun.  _She smells like Roses; my favorite._

"I'll miss you."  _At least I can stop worrying about no one ever loving me._

"I'll miss you too darling." Sister Evangeline always hugs Mary the longest.

She finally stood and grabbed the door handle; her foot nearly out the door until Mary firmly grabs her hand one last time. "Sister Evangeline, I love you."

Mary could tell Sister Evangeline was shocked. Mary nearly never expresses her love to anyone. Well, not with words anyways. It's the very first time that she's ever said it straight to Sister Evangeline's face. Once Sister Evangeline regained her composure, she squeezed Mary's hand, "I love you too darling, more than you'll ever know." Giving Mary one last smile, she walked out the door, turning every few steps until she finally made it into her car and drove away.

All Mary could do was watch her leave.  _Just one call away…_

"Alright brat let's go. Drop your shit in the attic. You don't get to sleep on a bed until you start using the bathroom like everyone else in this house. No diapers either, no one's going to change you. Fucking disgusting, I'm not going to have you ruin the bed I bought with your piss just because you're too much of a baby to use the toilet." David angrily said to Mary.

_So much for being glad to have me… Gotta give the place a chance…_

With a nod Mary picked up her items and carried them up the stairs to the attic with David in tow. Once there, she sets down her things and looks around.  _There really is a lot of stuff in here…_

"You'll be staying in here. You don't get to sleep in that nice room until I think you deserve it. If you piss on the floor you better clean it up or you'll regret it. Understand?" He asked, raising both eyebrows.

"… I only use diapers at night…"

David's eyes narrowed, "I asked if you understood."

"… Yes, I understand…"

He nodded his head, pleased with her response. "I'll get you tomorrow when breakfast is ready. No dinner for you tonight." When he closed the door behind him, Mary heard it lock. When she heard his footsteps disappear she went to investigate and was displeased when she found out she was correct that it locks from the outside.  _Great._

Mary took in her surroundings, she took note that it was extremely dusty and crowded in the attic.  _It could be worse. I can't freak out cuz Sister Evangeline's not here to help me if my head gets all fuzzy. If they're not letting me out for dinner then I better get ready for bed._

Mary went in her bag and pulled out her stuffed dog Mrs. Sprangles (a gift from Sister Evangeline from when she was an infant) and a jacket. She went to the corner and laid them on the ground.  _It could be worse._

She brought her backpack and duffel bag to the corner as well and used the duffel bag as a makeshift pillow and used the jacket as a blanket. As she went to lay down, she grabbed Mrs. Sprangles and held her close in one arm.  _It could be worse._  With that thought in mind, she laid a hand on her watch, closed her eyes, and laid there, making up stories in her head for hours until she went into a restless sleep.

* * *

**NATASHA (25)**

**7PM, Saturday**

"Hey Nat, how was the mission? You've been gone for ages." Clint joked to the red head.

"Great. They were all idiots. None of them knew how to keep secrets." She replied.

"Did you at least have some fun while you were in Poland?"

"I went to the spa and made out with a bunch of people." She said dryly.

Clint's eyes widened. "… I can't tell if you're joking or not. Help me out?"

Natasha rolled her eyes and left him with no answer.

"WAIT! ANSWER THE QUESTION!" He yelled as she walked away.

_I should probably find other people to associate with… Nah. Doing that would make everyone here jealous and then they'd bother those other people to no end. At least I can be myself here._

"Oh, hey tasha, I didn't know you were back already!" Bruce asked with a big smile.

She smiled back at him, "Yeah the flight back was pretty short. It's weird since the flight there felt long as hell."

"No kidding. You going to debrief?"

"Yeah, I honestly only came to this floor to let my presence be known." She smirked jokingly.

Laughing, Bruce said, "Careful, for a second I heard Tony in you."

"Haha, we'll catch up when I'm done yeah?"

Bruce was incredibly happy to hear that, he felt they had grown apart since the night they all met Mary. He is also one of the unfortunate ones to have not found his soulmate yet. Now, one is able to be with another's soulmate, provided neither have met their soulmates. Those who have not found their soulmates may settle down and start their own families.

"Yeah that's awesome!" If Natasha had never met Mary, she would have continued flirting with Bruce and would have possibly entered a relationship with him. Now that she met Mary though, she's not going to risk the girl dying for being with someone who's not her soulmate.

As Natasha left to her floor, she thought about the mission she just returned from.  _I should have broken his jaw instead of just his arms… Narcissistic perverted old man._

Walking onto her floor she spotted Fury sitting on her couch waiting for her.

"Jarvis a little warning would have been nice." She was plain annoyed now.  _I thought we were going to be doing this over video. So much for checking up on Mary._

"Apologies Miss Romanoff but I was strictly told not to tell of his arrival." He sounded almost apologetic.

"Well next time remember who keeps Tony from programming your voice to a Brazilian female voice." She reminded him, completely irritated now.

"I'll remember my loyalties next time Miss Romanoff."

Turning to look at the man that annoyed her almost as much of Tony, she asked, "What do you want Fury. I thought we were debriefing over video chat."

"I thought I'd… come by and chat."

Natasha narrowed her eyes, not liking where this is going. "Chat about what."

Sighing, he asked, "Are you really going to make me ask you out loud?"  _He looks tired._

"… How much do you know?" She wasn't all that surprised he knew, she was just surprised it took him this long.

He took a moment to gather his thoughts, "I know that you visit an orphanage on your free time. What I don't understand, is why. So, are you going to tell me, or do I have to guess and dig deeper?"

 _Clint knows, that's already one too many people that know._  "It's just some kid we saved a while back from a pedophile."

Fury pushed on, "I see. That doesn't explain why you keep visiting her though."

"Got a soft spot for kids." Natasha smoothly lied.

Fury contemplated what to say before he spoke. "So, what you're trying to say is, you got attached and-"

She quickly interrupted him; "-Well I wouldn't say attached…"

"You're attached. Anyways, keep in mind that with your profession, you are putting her in danger. Not 'possibly' but 'are' putting her in danger. Agents and civilians should not mix." He said sadly before moving on to asking her to debrief the mission. "Alright, tell me how the mission went."

"… Yes sir.,"  _I'll just have to check on her tomorrow._  Quickly putting Mary out of her mind, Natasha went into work mode.

* * *

**Mary (Sunday)**

Mary woke with a fright from her latest nightmare.  _Not real, that wasn't the real world. This is._  Letting out a breath of air, she tried turning into a more comfortable position until she noticed a wet spot.  _Great._  Looking at her watch she realized it was 4 in the morning.

Sighing, she grabbed her bag and changed her clothes.  _It smells like pee in here._  Looking around she noticed there was no window.  _I better clean this._  She didn't have any towels to clean with, so she settled with using her shirt.  _Give this place a chance. Maybe they'll like me when they see how nice I am?_

Once finished cleaning, she laid on the ground, staring at the ceiling in thought.  _I haven't felt Nat in a while. I wish she would visit… STOP! I gotta stop being selfish. She's an adult so she's got her own life to care about. Not just mine. I just gotta wait till I'm a grown up and then things will be better. Still though, I miss her. I wonder if… she misses me._ With that final thought Mary dozed off to sleep again.

"WAKE UP STUPID BRAT!" David screamed as he slammed the door open, scaring Mary awake.

"I'm up sir!" she hurriedly replied. Remembering from her last foster home to answer immediately when spoken to.

As he was about to speak again, the smell of pee entered his nose. Covering his nose with his shirt, he stared angrily at Mary before yelling at her. "It smells like piss in here! I said clean it up or else!"

"I tried sir, but there's no window so I can't do anything about the smell…" She stated sadly.

"Fucking baby," With that being said, David left the room, slamming the door behind him.

 _I'm not a baby…_ She thought tearfully. Wiping away her tears, Mary sat there not knowing what to do next.  _Am I even allowed to leave the room?_  She didn't understand what was allowed in this house. At her other foster homes, each home had specific rules on what was allowed for foster children.

She looked at her watch and noted it was 8 in the morning.  _I got 4 more hours at least._ _I better wait up here just in case. I don't want to get them madder at me._

It's a good thing she waited because less than 10 seconds later David arrived with a plug-in candle.

"There, unplug this in a little bit. Don't leave it on all day. Got it? Good. Let's go. Breakfast is ready." With that, he left the room, leaving the door open.

_That could have gone worse. At least he was nice to bring in the cool candle._

When she sat down at the table, she noticed her plate had the least amount of food.  _At least I get something to eat. Remember Mary, someone always has it worse._

"Thank you very much for the food." She said politely.

Breakfast was a silent affair. The boys kept staring at Mary as though she were an object on display. Mary ignored them, wondering what new fighting move Scarlett no doubt would try convincing her to learn.

Once breakfast was over David told his children to run off to their friend's house, wishing them that they have fun, reminding them how loved they are.  _I wish I could have that…_

Once the front door was closed both David and Charlotte turned to Mary.

"Alright kid." Charlotte spoke first. "Here's the rules. You sleep in the attic; be grateful we gave you the attic and not the outside treehouse. You clean up your own mess. When that visit comes from that social worker of yours or that stupid nun I expect you to put on a fucking smile and lie through your teeth on how much you love it here. Having you here gives us money that we need so like I said. Lie."

Once his wife finished speaking, David continued on. "You also do whatever we tell you to do. I don't care if you're tired or whatever. You don't do what we say, you pay the consequences. Understand? Good. Oh, and I meant what I said about the piss. You better work on that. Now, clean this damn mess up." He said as he pointed to the messy table. "We fed you so the least you can do is clean. When you're done, clean the rest of this house. I expect it spotless by the time dinner is done. If not, well… You'll see." With their rules being laid out, both adults left the house. Leaving Mary alone in the house.

_Money. It's always about money. I see. It's not because they ever want me. Stupid Mary, thinking they might like you for you._

Sighing, Mary got up and started her long day of cleaning.

_So much for not taking anyone's crap anymore._

* * *

**Natasha**

**12pm Sunday**

_Woke up kind of late today, I shouldn't let that become a habit… Fury should mind his own business._ Natasha thought as she walked into the Common Area.

She was greeted by Bruce and Tony. Tony only grunted his acknowledgement to her, while Bruce had at least the curtesy to use words.

"Hey Nat, slept in kind of late huh?"

She huffed, still annoyed at what Fury said the other night. "It's not going to happen again. Anyone check in on Mary lately?"

Tony rolled his eyes, "not since last month. I'm sure the kid's fine. I like her too, but I don't get why you're so attached to her. Truthfully, you only met her once. I feel like you're not telling us everything."

Natasha couldn't help but glare at him.

He put his hands up in defense. "Hey, I'm just saying what everyone's been thinking lately. Look if it makes you feel better we'll check up on her now. Jarvis, anything new with Mary lately?"

"As a matter of fact, yes. As of yesterday evening, sir." He stated.

Tony looked towards the ceiling in surprise and annoyance. "Well then why didn't you say anything?! I told you to tell us of any new developments with her."

"I did try telling you sir, but you seemed rather annoyed with me interrupting you while you were having intercourse with Miss Potts." Now Jarvis sounded annoyed and just done with Tony.

Bruce was smirking while Natasha was pinching the bridge of her nose.

"I do apologize for not informing you though Miss Romanoff. It's just that you seemed extremely upset after your talk with Director Fury for me to want to give you more reason to be upset." He said, sounding apologetic.

She couldn't help but forgive him. "It's alright, thanks for thinking about me Jarvis. Now, please tell us the new development."

Bruce whispered to Tony, "Your AI likes Nat more than you."

Tony muttered about creators and loyalty and some other random stuff before falling silent so that he could listen to what Jarvis had to say.

"Very well. As of yesterday, Mary has started living in her new foster home. They are known as The Jefferson's. The family consists of David, Charlotte, and their twin 13-year-old sons Ben and Liam. They all currently reside here in New York. Not too far from Mary's current school. Would you like to know anything else?"

"Background checks. Anything bad?" Tony questioned.

"One moment sir." Everyone waited anxiously as Jarvis was scanning the system. "Nothing on record sir. As far as anyone knows, they have no criminal records."

_Just because there's no record doesn't mean everything's good._

"What are their occupations?" Bruce questioned next.

"David Jefferson is an accountant while Charlotte Jefferson has no occupation. She most likely cares for the children when they are home. Is there anything else I should look up?"

"Alright so she's a stay at home mom then." Bruce stated to the others.

Tony got excited when he remembered the watch they gave her. "Hey! She's got her watch, listening device remember? Records stuff? Should we listen in?"

"No. We shouldn't listen in unless we absolutely need to." Natasha shut the idea down right away.

Tony scrunched up his nose in confusion. "How are we supposed to know if we need to if we aren't listening in?"

"Well considering you put an alert for if her vitals get past a certain level, I think we'd know" Bruce said, teasing him.

_Softy._

"Before we get off track, I'm going to point out that the family sounds too ordinary." Natasha stated.

"You could go check it out. No one will think less of you for being that worried about Mary." Bruce softly told her.

Natasha looked to Tony. "Hey, I might not understand your attachment to the kid, but I'm not going to make fun of you for being worried about her."

_Thanks, you guys._

Alright, in that case, I'll be back later. Jarvis, send me the address please."

"Already sent Miss."

"You're the best Jarvis" She said as she left.

Once she was out of sight, Tony turned to Bruce. "You know Brucie, I've been thinking about making the kid an AI, maybe as a birthday present ya know? Like say 13. Puberty's a bitch. What do you think?"

Bruce was shocked, "I didn't think you liked the kid that much. If you're serious though, I'd do it at the age of 12. Just to be safe."

"It's just a thought… I might not do it." He shrugged, wondering if they'd ever actually get to talk to Mary again.

* * *

Natasha arrives at the Jefferson's house

**Mary**

Mary felt as though her heart would explode.  _Nat! She's here!_  Mary got off the bathroom floor, throwing the sponge in the bathtub and ran down the stairs.  _She's really here! Where? Where? WHERE?_

When she made it outside, she looked around for Natasha. "I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!" Slightly out of breath, she gulped air into her mouth. Mary stood outside for nearly an hour, when it was clear Natasha wouldn't show herself, Mary went back inside, disappointed.

_I shouldn't be surprised… She's here though. That's all that matters. It's okay. This is enough. It has to be._

Mary went back to cleaning, taking in the small comfort that Natasha stayed close by for hours. After a while though, she felt Natasha get farther and farther away.

_Bye Nat. Thank you for visiting me._

Mary was busy cleaning the master bedroom when she heard the front door open. She kept cleaning, wanting to get done before dinner. She heard footsteps coming towards the room.

"What the hell do you think you're doing in our room?!" Charlotte screamed in anger.

Mary froze unsure of what is happening.  _What?_

Charlotte stormed up to Mary, "ANSWER ME!"

"You and Mr. David told me to clean the house, I'm sorry I thought you meant the bedrooms too!" Mary rushed to explain

"HAVE SOME COMMON SENSE!" Charlotte then smacked Mary across the face. Smacking Mary hard enough to fall to the ground.

Charlotte then left the room angrily yelling about children having no respect for privacy. "AND NO DINNER FOR YOU!" She yelled once more before leaving to cook dinner for the others.

"… but… I was told to clean the entire house…" Mary said quietly. Holding in her tears.  _No crying. I'm almost 6. I can't keep crying when I get hit. I'm not a baby._

Mary held in her tears, whenever one managed to slip down, she wiped it away quickly.  _No more crying._

Mary picked herself off the ground, and went to the attic, deciding to sleep for the night so that she may get up early for school tomorrow.  _There's always someone that has it worse. At least I ate a sandwich before they came home._

She grabbed Mrs. Sprangles and prayed.  _I didn't do it yesterday so I gotta do it now or else I'll forget. Sister Evangeline says it's always good to talk to someone._

"Hi God, so it hasn't really been an okay day. I already know that you know that these people aren't the best. But that's okay. I don't get to eat tonight, but that's okay too. I got slapped today, but that's also okay. I'm okay. I can handle this, I swear! So, don't you worry about me, okay? Oh! Nat visited me today! Isn't that awesome? I didn't get to see her of course but that's okay too. At least I felt her… that's enough for me I guess. I guess that's all I have to say. I'll talk to you tomorrow… Oh! And please watch over everyone in the world and keep everyone safe! Can't believe I almost forgot that. Anyways, goodnight God! Amen."

With her prayers said, she closed her eyes and again made up stories of dinners, families, soulmates, and happiness and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**Natasha**

When Natasha arrived at the Jefferson's house she took note on how ordinary it looked.

_Just because the outside looks okay doesn't mean that what happens inside might be okay too though._

Natasha froze when she felt Mary get closer and closer.  _Shit I need to hide._

She climbed to the top of a tree and hid out of Mary's view.

Natasha smirked when she heard Mary yell, "I KNOW YOU'RE HERE!"

All Natasha could do was take in Mary's appearance. Looking slightly sweaty and tired.  _What was she doing?_ Not once though did Natasha move from her spot while Mary waited for her to show. She frowned when she saw Mary turn to go inside disappointed.  _I'm sorry Mary. Unfortunately, this is all we can do for now. It's not fair, I know._

Natasha stayed in the tree for hours, relishing the feeling of their bond.  _4 months is too long to be away._  As she was waiting she looked more into the Jefferson's personal lives.  _This has to be the most boring family ever. Though, I guess boring is safe to CPS and churches to be able to send kids to their homes…_

Sighing, Natasha finally climbed back down the tree. Her back was sore from staying in the same position for hours. She decided it was best to leave for now. She'd dig more into the family after she'd eaten dinner with everyone.

_Bye Mary._

* * *

**Mary**

As months went by Mary found it was getting easier to lie. It was getting easier to lie to Scarlett, her social worker, and yes, even Sister Evangeline.

She doesn't cry as much anymore; she feels as though there's no point.  _Crying doesn't help. Only babies cry._

David would always yell that to her whenever her eyes even looked as though they were glossy.

Whenever there was a bruise, she'd be given make up to cover up.

 _You say anything, and we'll make it so that you can never speak again._  So, Mary resolves not speaking the truth is the best option she has.

School was her only sanctuary.

"Mary! Are you listening to me?" Scarlett asked, getting all within 2 inches of Mary's face.

"Huh? Oh, sorry I guess I was thinking about The Cat in the Hat book too much haha!" Mary came up with a quick excuse, not wanting to worry Scarlett.

Scarlett looked as though she didn't believe her but decided not to speak up about it and just go with the lie. "I mean I liked it too but like not to be thinking about it that hard. It's weird though, I wonder how that book was even thought up about."

Mary grinned at Scarlett, "Maybe they just put a hat on a regular cat and pretended the cat could talk!"

Scarlett was then struck with an idea. "Hey! You know how we're supposed to be making our own book?"

Mary grew excited, knowing where the conversation was going. "Yeah! We gotta make our own story, either alone or with a partner. Whoever wins gets their book talked about in the newspaper!"

"Exactly. I bet we can come up with something way better than the dumb cat story. So, wanna work together? You could come over my house."

 _I've never been to a real friend's house before!_  "I have to ask but that sounds like an awesome idea!"

"Great! I'll ask my mommy and you ask yours! She'll prolly say you can come over tomorrow since it's Friday. Oh! You should ask to sleepover instead! You could sleep over the entire weekend! We could leave after school together and drop you off back home on Sunday! That way we won't have to rush our genius ideas. Mommy's been wanting to meet you for a while anyways! I'll give you our house phone number and address when we get back in class in case your family has any emergencies."

_A SLEEPOVER! THAT MEANS THIS IS A TRUE FRIENDSHIP!_

Mary was hesitant to give a reply though, not sure if she should mention she doesn't live like Scarlett does.  _I don't think she'd get it._

"Um, I'll ask but I don't know. My… parents don't really like me going places, they're weird about that. I'll ask though."

Scarlett as if there was more but didn't know how to ask. Her gut's been giving her weird feelings since meeting Mary. She didn't want to ask and ruin their friendship though, so she left it be, opting to change the subject she suggested they start working right then since they still 20 minutes until recess was over.

At the house

_This house isn't so bad. At least they give me food when I do good. Should I ask about tomorrow? I should. They might say no but it's one less thing to lie to Scarlett about if she asks that I asked._

Mary raised her hand, knowing to wait until the others were finished with their conversation.

"What?" David asked, annoyed.

"Would it be okay if I slept over at a friend's house for the weekend? We were hoping to work on a project together." She timidly asked.

Ben and Liam for the most part of her stay at their house were decent. They didn't go out of their way to bother her and she didn't go out of her way to bother them.

Liam turned to her confused, "You have a friend?" He didn't mean it in a bad way, more like Mary's never spoken of having any friends since her living there. Still though, Mary felt a bit offended.

"I do, her name's Scarlett. I have her family's house phone number and address…" She trailed off, noticing Charlotte look displeased at the information that she had a friend. She was about to say no but then realized she'd have a night where her attic floor wouldn't be peed on.

"Fine. Remember though. If you say anything about what happens here, I'll make sure not only you pay, but that stupid family will too."

Mary felt furious that she was actually threatening Scarlett and her family.  _They didn't do anything to you._  She knew she couldn't say anything to defend them though. That would only get her hurt and not able to go to the sleepover. "Yes ma'am."

Mary felt something extremely unpleasant deep inside her stomach. She was unable to put into words what she was feeling, all she knows is that hearing those threatening words felt as though her gut was on fire. All she knew was that it was worse than anger.

_I don't know this feeling... What is it?_


End file.
